The Contract
by HinawithLove
Summary: In the past, Itachi Uchiha had never been turned down by any woman, but he was about to be put in his place by a certain pinkette...or was he?  AU  Non-Massacre
1. Chapter 1

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Itachi Uchiha was a legend in the Hidden Leaf Village. Heir to one of the most powerful shin obi clans in existence, possessor of the Mangekyo Sharigan, ANBU captain at the age of thirteen, impossible handsome and cool under fire, he was the hero of the village. He was envied by most of the men, and it was a rare woman that had not entertained at least one or two fantasies about what it would be like to be touched by those long elegant fingers of his. His air of indifference only seemed to add to the aura of coolness that hung about him.

What very few people in the village were privileged to know was that Itachi was just as human as the next man. He laughed, worried, bled, and had a normal sexual appetite. He was also intensely private, preferring solitude, and a bit on the paranoid side. And though he was discreet about it, he was just as much of a fan of Jiraiya's literary works as Kakashi. In other words, Itachi Uchiha was a pervert.

Having mentioned that he was both the heir to the Uchiha clan, one of the most uptight and prideful clans, and a pervert, it should come as no surprise that Itachi was very discreet when it came to his affairs with the fairer sex. It was a clan bylaw that the heir should remain a virgin till his wedding night. Itachi had broken that law at the tender age of fourteen, when he took up one of his many fan girl's offers. Since that time, he had become addicted to the taste, touch, smell, and sight of the female body. Taking his role as the upholder of Uchiha virtue seriously (in public anyway), Itachi had come up with a unique method for ensuring that his reputation remained intact while at the same time being free to indulge himself any time he wished.

A contract.

Any woman that wanted to be in his bed had to sign a contract stating that she would not, under any circumstance, reveal that she had been intimate with him. One word, one heated glance, and her life would become a living hell. The penalty for breaking the contract was 72 hours of torture while stuck in his Sharigan genjutsu. It was a high price, but no woman had yet to turn him down or betray him. He liked to pride himself on the fact that he made sure that none of his partners ever regretted taking him up on his offer.

It was no one wonder that this level of success with women should have led to a certain degree of conceit. To put it plainly, Itachi was not accustomed to being told no by a woman. Ever. And this is where the real story begins…..

"Sakura-sempai! You are needed in trauma room one! ANBU Team One has returned from their mission and they are in critical condition!" An agitated nurse hurriedly told the pinkette. Sakura sighed as she put down the chopsticks she had just raised to her mouth. _Looks like I am missing my lunch once again._ Nodded to the nurse, she quickly followed her down the emergency room and entered trauma one.

Immediately, she could tell that for once the nurse had not exaggerated the extent of Itachi Uchiha's injuries. Most of the time when he was brought to the hospital, the nurses made a huge fuss over the man, a simple cut was treated as if he had a life-threatening injury. This time however, she was genuinely concerned. As she bustled forward, shoving the hovering nurses out of the way, she began to assess the damage visually.

His handsome face was marred by several deep cuts, his right arm was bent at an odd angle, and his abdomen was wrapped in hastily applied field bandages that were soaked through with blood.

Barking out orders to the nurses, she quickly pulled healing chakra into her hands and applied it to his chest, checking for internal damage, and probing the depth of his obvious wounds. Her concern turned to panic when she discovered that his spleen had a tear in it, spilling infection into his abdominal cavity. Shouting out for someone to summon Lady Tsunade, she applied her full concentration to stopping the flow of poisonous leakage, and repairing the tear. Sweat blossomed on her brow as she pumped more and more chakra into her hands, repairing his broken ribs and stimulating the production of red and white blood cells.

She turned her attention to sealing up the deep slash across his abdomen, and then worked on his arm. By the time she had done all that, her chakra reserves were very low, and she was swaying over his body dizzily, her sheer stubborn will being the only thing holding her up. A moan of pain brought her attention back up to his face, and she was amazed to she that he was awake and starring up at her intensely.

"Itachi-san, your injuries were extensive, but I was able to heal the worse of them. Rest now and I will get you something for the pain." She told him in a soothing voice, as she gently stroked her hand over his eyelids, lowering them. He grunted at her, which she knew from experience, was Uchiha-ese (as she put it) for a yes. Just as she was getting ready to collaspe, her shishou entered and grabbed her arm, leading her to the bed beside his. A brief infusion of chakra from the older woman had her feeling much better.

"Sakura- you know better than to run your reserves that low." Lady Tsunade said sternly.

"I felt that his injuries warranted the risk, besides how could I ever face Sasuke-kun if I let his brother die?" Sakura replied, clearly unrepentant. Neither woman realized that Itachi was lying awake in pain listening to their conversation. Tsunade let out a humph of disgust, as she checked Itachi's condition, and finished healing him.

"I would have thought that you were over that stupid crush of yours by now." She teased her former apprentice. Sakura let out a reluctant bark of laughter.

"Shishou- you know very will that I was twelve the last time I admired Sasuke-kun. Twelve! Are you ever going to let me live down my fan girl years?" She asked in mock exasperation.

_Interesting! She drains herself of chakra to save me, not because she cares about me, but because she doesn't want to hurt my brother. And she claims not to have feelings for him? Still from that tone in her voice, I have to believe that she is telling the truth._ Itachi's body felt stiff, and he was unable to suppress a moan when Tsunade's chakra mended the fracture she found on his thigh. He heard Sakura mutter a curse.

"Shit-I forgot to have one of the nurses administer a painkiller!" She exclaimed in self-disgust. Tsunade sent her a sharp look as it was not normal for her most talented student to forget something important like that.

"You must have been really focused on healing him-maybe your little crush has transferred targets, eh?" She half-teased the young woman. Itachi found himself listening intently for her answer, and was put out when she started laughing.

"Itachi-san is **way** out of my league, Shishou! Besides, I learned my lesson about lusting after an Uchiha, after that one incident with…" She trailed off her sentence when she remembered that he was very likely listening to the conversation.

"I'd better go get that shot." Sakura said as she hurried out of the room.

_So, she learned her lesson did she? Well, we will just have to see about that. _Despite the pain that he was feeling, Itachi felt a smirk form across his face. In the past, he had not paid much attention to his younger brother's teammate. They had met at his house on several occasions and engaged in small talk at various functions, but he had never noticed how much she had grown until today.

She had finally started letting her hair grow out, and it swayed half-way down her back in soft loose waves. Her eyes were just as green as they had every been, but he had failed to notice how they sparkled with intelligence, and her body was curved in all the right places. True, her breasts from what he could tell under the lab coat were not overly generous, but in his experience small breasted women tended to be more sensitive. He was mildly surprised to find his body reacting to his thoughts, especially with how badly he had been injured, but he found that it just increased his interest in the pink-haired kuniochi.


	2. Chapter 2

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Sakura reentered Itachi's room the next morning to administer the next dose of painkillers into his IV. As she injected the medicine into his line, she felt the intensity of his gaze upon her. It took a real effort on her part to keep her hands steady, and resist the urge to turn and met his eyes.

For well over a year now, Sakura had harbored a certain fondness for the heir of the Uchiha clan. Perhaps fondness wasn't exactly the right word, because she was caught somewhere between lust and disgust for the way he conducted his affairs. In a moment of anger, a drunk Sasuke had revealed the truth about Itachi's love life. Naruto had been teasing him for the millionth time about how both he and his elder brother must be gay since they never dated anyone. Sasuke had yelled out that Itachi probably got even more than Gemna and Kakashi combined, and preceded to spill the beans about 'the contract'.

Of course, once he saw the shocked looks on both Naruto and Sakura's faces, he backpedaled and tried to play it off as a joke, but neither of his teammates had believed his lie. So in the end, they were swore to secrecy since Sasuke, in his inebriated state, was crying over the fact that Itachi was going to kill him. From that night on, the feelings that Sakura had started to develop for the elder Uchiha had been tainted. She still lusted over his body, but she felt nothing but contempt for the way he lived such a double life. She still admired his skills on the battlefield, his intelligence, and his cool-under-fire attitude, but her desire to possibly enter a relationship with him was gone.

There was no way in hell she would ever let herself get treated like a whore. Any man that thought she was good enough to sleep with was damn sure going to announce his admiration and attention to the world if he wanted to be with her. As hard as she had worked to reach a position of skill and authority demanded that she except no less than a full measure of acknowledgement from whichever man she entered a relationship with. As much as Sakura wanted Itachi, and she wanted him something fierce, she had too much respect for herself to be any man's piece of tail on the side.

Holding that thought uppermost in her mind, Sakura steeled herself to meet his eyes with a purely professional expression. Still, she was unable to stop herself from giving him a brief head-to-toe inspection. He was her favorite eye candy after all. From the top of his gorgeous head, past his beautiful face, down his long lean body, to the very tips of his toes, the man was masculine perfection personified. When she finally met his eyes, they were gleaming a smug knowledge, and she realized that he was perfectly aware that she was checking him out instead of assessing his wounds. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her blush however, and spoke.

"The painkiller should take effect in a few minutes, is there anything else that you need?" She asked him in her best professional tone. He frowned briefly, but quickly recovered his smirk.

"I saw you looking at my body….am I healing to your satisfaction?" He asked her with a touch of sexual suggestion in his voice, as he emphasized the word 'satisfaction'. Fighting back the shiver that threatened to run over her body from the sheer seduction of his low husky voice, Sakura nodded her head at him.

"I am pleased with your progress, and I am sure that Sasuke-kun, Mikoto-san, and Uchiha-sama will be relieved that you are recovering so quickly. They are waiting outside, I'm going to go let them know they can visit now." She told him calmly, as she headed towards the door. She was stopped by Itachi's hand around her wrist, and before she was able to control her reaction, her body was covered in goosebumps, and she let out a small gasp. He chuckled, and the sound of it brought her out of her haze.

She turned to look him in the eye as she very deliberately reached down with her other hand, and sent a jolt of chakra into his wrist, forcing him to release her. She saw his look of satisfaction change to one of shock before he quickly removed all trace of emotions from his face. His eyes burned into her with heat, and a small amount of anger before he masked them as well.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Sakura-san." He told her, as his eyes searched her face in interest.

"You didn't offend me _Uchiha-san_. I am just a little _particular_ about who I _allow_ to touch me." She told him with a touch of coolness to her tone. His eyes widened a miniscule amount before narrowing, but he didn't reach for her again as she headed for the door. She could feel the speculation in the weight of his stare almost physically on her back as she left the room.

ITACHI'S POV:

_Oh, it is on, my little cherry blossom. Before I am done with you, you will be begging for my touch! _He hastily dropped the predatory smirk that had formed on his face as his brother and parents entered the room. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at him, but decided to wait until a later time to ask what that particular look was about. He had a sinking feeling that it had something to do with the anger he had seen in Sakura's eyes as she informed them they could visit. _I'll just have to make it clear that Sakura is off-limits, and hope like hell that he accepts it_, Sasuke thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"**INNER SAKURA TALKING"**

"_REGULAR SAKURA THOUGHTS/ARGUMENTS WITH INNER"_

As Sakura left the hospital at the end of her shift, she was still fuming on the way back to her apartment.

"**WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS? SO WHAT IF HE IS A SEXY GOD, HE HAS NO RIGHT TO LAY HIS HANDS ON US! IT DID FEEL NICE THOUGH, GAVE US THE GOOSEBUMPS IN A GOOD WAY***GIGGLE***"**

"_SO WHAT IF HIS TOUCH FELT GOOD? WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?" _Since the time that she was a small girl getting picked on for her large forehead, Sakura had been talking to herself. She used to think that she had multiple personality disorder, but after coming across the literature on the condition during her medical studies, she shot that idea down.

'Inner Sakura', the voice she heard, was just the side of herself that she normally repressed. During times of emotional stress, 'Inner' pushed to the forefront of Sakura's conscience and forced her to acknowledge her true thoughts, feelings, and impulses about whatever given situation she found herself in.

Right now, she figured that she was in real trouble. All her little lectures about self-respect were really easy to follow when the man in question never noticed her. It was a whole other ballgame when said individual was obviously targeting her as his next….

"_MAYBE I AM MAKING THIS INTO A BIG DEAL, JUST BECAUSE I HAVE A REACTION TO HIS TOUCH DOESN'T MEAN THAT HE MEANT FOR ME TO. MAYBE I AM JUST HAVING DELUSIONS DUE TO EXTREME DESIRE?" _She was questioning herself, going over their conversation word for word, look for look.

"**YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT IMAGINING THINGS, ITACHI-KUN WAS DEFINITELY PUTTING SOME MOVES ON US. I WONDER WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE WHEN HE KISSES US?" **While Sakura was panicking at the thought of trying to resist Itachi while he was kissing her, 'Inner' was literally drooling.

"_YOU ARE NOT HELPING ME! I AM NOT GOING TO END UP BEING HIS SECRET WHORE! IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT SHISUI TOOK MY VIRGINITY AND DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER IT! I REFUSE TO LET ANOTHER UCHIHA TOUCH MY BODY!"_ Sakura was panting as she fussed at her inner self, who honestly cared nothing about respect, and only about what she actually wanted. Common sense had little to do with 'Inner'. It was all about her deepest desires and urges. Her inner self had been responsible for the other 'Uchiha Incident', as she had dubbed the losing of her virginity.

The party to celebrate the new ANBU inductees had been a rowdy event. Everyone had met at a local nightclub, and most were drinking, steadily losing their inhibitions as the night went along. Sakura had a few drinks and was enjoying herself on the dance floor when Shisui had appeared behind her, pulling her up against his body, and moving in time to the music with her. Between the drinks, her elation over passing the exam, and 'Inner's' influence, Sakura had lost her virginity up against the wall outside the club. True, the whole thing had been rather pleasurable, but when Shisui didn't remember the episode the next day due the volume of alcohol he had consumed, she had felt dirty.

It was then that she decided that she would never have causal sex again. The next time she allowed a man to get that close to her, he was going to be fully conscious and committed to her. No more meaningless hook-ups. Especially not with any more sexy Uchiha. She grimaced just thinking about how she had felt the morning after. Like the world's biggest whore.

"**THAT WOULD BE INO, HONEY. DON'T BE SO HARD ON US. YOU HAVE TO LOSE YOUR V-CARD TO SOMEONE, AND SHISUI UCHIHA IS ALMOST AS SEXY AS ITACHI! WOMEN WITH A LOT MORE EXPERIENCE THAN YOU HAVE FALLEN AT HIS FEET." **'Inner' was attempting to make her feel better, just like she had that next morning.

"_LOOK, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A POINT, BUT I AM NOT SOMEONE WHO IS COMFORTABLE WITH UNCOMPLICATED SEX. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, FELT LIKE A HO." _Sakura argued with herself.

"**FINE- BUT DON'T GO BLAMING ME AGAIN IF YOU WAKE UP IN ITACHI'S BED! I ONLY POINT OUT WHAT YOU WANT- YOU ARE THE ONE THAT WHETHER OR NOT TO ACT ON IT!" **Sakura winced at the home truth that 'Inner' delivered. Still, it was obvious that she wasn't going to get any help resisting his advanced from herself. It was time to pull out the big guns.

With new found determination, Sakura did a one-eighty degree turn and headed off towards the other end of the village. Lost in thought, she was surprised to notice she was already at her destination. Sakura took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After about a minute and a half, the door opened.

"Naruto, I need help!" She wailed as she threw herself into his arms.


	4. Chapter 4

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"Ummm Sakura….could you come back later?" Naruto asked her sheepishly. Offended, she pushed out of his arms, and glared up at him. That was when she noticed a few details that she had missed when he first opened the door. Naruto's normally messy blonde locks were even more disheveled that usual, and he was only wearing a black tee-shirt and orange boxers. Her eyes went wide as she looked around the room and stopped on the lavender lace bra that was thrown over the back of his couch. She turned to face him, and smirked. Naruto's blushed, but then made shooing motions with his hands.

"It's okay Naruto-kun, I know that Sakura-chan won't say anything." Hinata said as she came out of his bedroom dressed in one of his tee-shirts and her Capri pants. She was looking a little tousled herself, and her lips were swollen and red. She was glowing with happiness, and for a few seconds, Sakura felt a sharp dart of jealousy run through her before she nipped it in the bud. She did not need a man to be happy- she didn't!

"**YOU JUST KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT…YOU KNOW DENIAL IS A RIVER IN EYGPT, RIGHT?"** 'Inner' said sarcastically.

"_SHUT UP YOU! IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SAY SOMETHING HELPFUL, JUST SHUT UP!" _Sakura snarled back at herself. 'Inner' chuckled, but refrained from commenting.

"Are you sure you are fine with this Hinata?" She asked her friend.

"You obviously need help to come and ask for it, so we should be willing to help, no matter what we were do-" Hinata broke off her sentence and blushed her signature blush. Naruto let out a bark of laughter and pulled her into his arms, letting her hide her glowing cheeks in his broad chest. She snuggled into his embrace, and Sakura could see the contented look on her face.

"**AAAWW! THEY ARE SO KAWAII TOGETHER! ARE YOU SURE WE DON'T NEED A MAN, CAUSE FROM THIS ANGLE IT LOOKS WONDERFUL TO ME!" **'Inner' chimed cheerfully. Sakura frowned at herself, though she had to admit that the sight before her was pretty awesome. About time they got together, too. Hinata had waited forever for Naruto to finally notice her.

"So when did you two hook up, because I thought that Naruto was going to be the world's most clueless idiot forever?" Sakura asked archly. Naruto glowered at her, and then turned back to Hinata, smiling down at her.

"It was the night we went had the party for passing the ANBU exams, remember?" He asked her. Sakura winced, and Naruto suddenly remembered why she would never forget that night. He looked at her in sympathy, thinking back to the day he found her crying about losing her virginity to a man who didn't remember the event. They never told Sasuke about that one, he would not have been able to restrain himself from making a big deal about it to his cousin, and Sakura was too humiliated to allow that to happen. She was now hoping that the man never remembered, because if he did now, all the feelings of shame from that morning after would rise up in her again. Suddenly, Sakura realized how long they had been hiding their relationship.

"So you have been together this whole time and didn't tell anyone?" She asked, upset with them for hiding something this big from her. Another part of her was upset because they were behaving in a manner similar to Itachi's. Why would they want to hide something this wonderful from the world? Didn't they realize just how long all of their friends had been waiting to see them together, and they deceived everyone for this long?

"Hinata's clan is not willing to accept any man but another Hyuuga for her. So we are trying to keep our relationship hidden until I officially take over as Hokage. Then we getting married, and they won't have the power to stop us." Naruto rushed to explain.

Sakura frowned at them, still upset that they hadn't trusted her enough to tell the truth, when Hinata decided to change the subject to divert her attention.

"So Sakura-chan, what do you need help with?" Hinata asked curiously. Sakura hesitated, because she didn't want to talk about 'the contract' in front of Hinata. Not that she didn't think that Itachi's nefarious behavior shouldn't be exposed, but because she had promised Sasuke to never tell anyone else. Still, Hinata always gave good advice…

"It's about Sasuke-kun's brother." She told them. Naruto and Hinata shared a look of confusion, before Naruto suddenly got a horrified expression on his face.

"You don't mean to tell me?" He semi-shouted. Sakura nodded miserably.

"Sakura-chan, how could you do it? I thought that you told me there was no way that you would ever fall into his perverted clutches!" Naruto shook his head in disgust, and lowered it into his hands, as he plopped down onto the couch. Hinata was looking back in forth between the two friends in obvious confusion.

"NARUTO! What kind of girl do you think I am? Of course I didn't sign it!" Sakura reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. It was his turn to look confused.

"Well, if you didn't sign it, then why do you need my help?" He asked. Sakura blushed and looked away, starring at poster on his wall. She started to twiddle her thumbs much like Hinata used to when she was younger. Naruto watched her, and then it dawned on him what her uncharacteristic behavior indicated.

"You WANT to sign it, don't you?" He said accusingly as he pointed at her. Sakura blushed deeper, even as she glared at him in embarrassment.

"Look, he hasn't asked me, he has just been acting….seductively. He made a sexual innuendo, and then he grabbed my wrist when I went to leave his hospital room. I am just worried that he has chosen me as his next target." She told him worriedly. Naruto paled, and lowered his face back into his hands. Hinata decided that she had been left out of the loop for long enough.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?" She exclaimed in exasperation. At Naruto and Sakura's shocked faces, she blushed deeply as she realized that she had practically shouted at them. After a few seconds, they began to laugh at her. She glowered at them, but it just made them laugh harder, because her 'mad' look was just like a kitten with ruffled fur.

"Naruto, I think that you are wearing off on her." Sakura said with a grin, as she wiped a tear of laughter off her cheek. Naruto merely smirked and snatched his irritated girlfriend onto his lap, giving her an affectionate squeeze. Hinata huffed at him, but allowed the contact.

Deciding that they had already said too much in front of her, Sakura filled her in on the details of Itachi's romantic contact. Hinata's face was a sight to see, as she tried to reconcile the new knowledge versus the image she had in her head of Itachi's reputation. Her jaw literally dropped open. After several minutes went by, she finally pulled herself together.

"So you are telling me that Itachi-san is a man whore?" She said in shock, before slapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment for using such a crude phrase. Her choice of words set Naruto and Sakura off again, and this time Hinata joined them. It took a while for them to bring themselves back under control, and when they finally accomplished it, Sakura looked over to see Hinata gazing at her in speculation.

"So do you want help in resisting him, or do you want help in taking him on your terms rather than his?" The indigo beauty asked her friend with a grin. Both her boyfriend and the pinkette gazed at her in total shock. Naruto started to protest, but Sakura just hung her head down.

"I don't know." She told them so softly they almost didn't hear her. Hinata looked at her friend in sympathy. She knew just how hard it was to feel the sting of being the one that wanted the most. She had spent years of her life devoted to the blonde knucklehead holding her. And as much as she loved him, Itachi Uchiha was in a whole other category of manhood. It would take a will of iron to resist the attentions of such a man. But she also knew her friend. If anyone could turn his little game around on him, it would be Sakura. She just needed their support. Hinata's thoughts were interrupted by Naruto.

"NANI!" He shouted in disbelief. Before Sakura could reach out and hit him, Hinata elbowed him hard in the ribs. He down on her in astonishment and a little hurt. She laid her hand over the spot where she had hurt him, and healed the bruise as she raised her other hand to cup his cheek.

"Naruto, Sakura is free to love whomever she wishes. There are a lot of people that think that you and I should never be together, and we didn't let it stop us." She pointed out to him gently. He started to say something and then stopped, letting out a sigh of resignation. She grinned at him before turning to Sakura with a mischievous look.

"Besides, you know that old saying. A reformed rake makes the best husband." She told the pinkette. Sakura's jaw dropped open and a glazed look entered her eye at the thought of marrying Itachi. Hinata laughed outright at the love-struck look on her face, while Naruto looked at his friend in disgruntlement. Feeling that she had teased her friend enough, Hinata pulled out of Naruto's arms and went to kneel in front of Sakura. She placed her hands over the pinkette's, and looked at her seriously.

"This decision is yours to make. Whether you decide to evade his attentions or pursue them in hopes of turning it into a real relationship. Naruto and I will support you one hundred percent. But you have to decide." Hinata told her in stern sympathy. Sakura looked up, and then down at her hands.

"I know." She said miserably.

"Sakura-chan, there is no other woman in this village with the exception of my Hinata, that has such determination and will-power as you do. You are a strong, skilled, smart, and an awesome person. Itachi Uchiha will be at your feet by the time you are done with him, if that is what you want. I have faith in you, believe it!" Naruto told her bracingly.

Sakura looked up at her friends and saw that they were looking at her with complete confidence and supportiveness. Slowly, she smiled at them as a look of determination lit up her eyes.

"Well, I don't know him well enough to decide if I want to marry him, but I do know that he needs to learn that not every woman will fall at his feet. I think it is time he gets taught a lesson about respect. And you never know, maybe somebody worth my time is under all that arrogance. Either way, I really want to find out." She told them with a huge grin on her face.

"If that is what you really want to do, then here is what I think that we should do…." Hinata started to reveal her plan, and by the time she was done, the three friends were sitting back with identical smirks on their faces.

"I really love you guys, you know that right?" Sakura told them lovingly.

"We love you too, Sakura-chan." They both reassured her.

"Alright, tomorrow we begin Operation: Bag Itachi Uchiha!" Naruto said enthusiastically.


	5. Chapter 5  First Step: Do Nothing

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

ONE WEEK LATER:

"_OKAY, THE FIRST STEP IS SO INCREDIBLY SIMPLE, I DON'T KNOW WHY I DIDN'T THINK OF IT MYSELF…" _Sakura chuckled to herself. Most people didn't give Hinata nearly enough credit for being smart. They were so drawn in by her innocent looks and soft manner, they tended to totally underestimate her. But she was definitely one smart cookie.

The first part of Hinata's plan was to simply: do nothing.

When Sakura and Naruto first heard her plan, they thought that she was insane. Do nothing, that was her big plan? However, she pointed out that Sakura had caught Itachi's interest by just being herself. She also illustrated the fact that if Sakura had to change herself to get her man, he wasn't worth it. So Hinata wanted Sakura to do just what she always did, and to react the same way she normally would.

As a plan went, it was so simple it was brilliant. And Hinata was right about the fact that she shouldn't have to change herself to be with someone. She was proud of who she was and what she had accomplished. She had no intentions of changing herself.

"_OF COURSE THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T LOOK GOOD WHILE DOING 'NOTHING'." _Sakura gave her hair one last brush through, and carefully swiped a tinted cherry flavored lip gloss over her lips. She stepped back and took a look at herself. She was in her normal hospital uniform, but today she had left the top two buttons undone, revealing a hint of cleavage, and spent extra time on her hair. Plus, the cherry lipstick was something she normally only wore when she went out on dates. Honestly, she stopped dolling up on a regular basis several years ago, because she got tired of being hit on. Not that she didn't anyway, but for some reason, guys got the impression that she wanted to be hit on when she spent extra time on her appearance.

"**WHILE WE ARE 'DOING NOTHING', THERE IS NO REASON WHY ITACHI CAN'T FIND OUT HOW DESIRABLE OTHER MEN FIND US, IS THERE?" **'Inner' purred. For once Sakura had no comeback to this, she was in perfect agreement. It would do him no harm to find out that he wasn't her only option. She smirked to herself as she left her apartment and headed to work.

She decided that she had time to stop for breakfast at her favorite teahouse. As she approached the shop, Kiba and Shino looked up, and she saw Kiba's eye widen before a smirk formed on his face.

"Hey Sakura, looking good this morning! When are you ever going to let me take you out on that date I've been asking for?" He asked her wolfishly while giving her a slow head-to-toe inspection. Inwardly, Sakura cringed, but in order for her plan to work she had take advantage of Kiba's interest.

"Definitely not today, I have to work." She told him. It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't an outright no like she had always given him in the past. She tilted her head to the side and gave him a friendly smile. Kiba's jaw dropped open before he gave her an answering smile. Sakura turned to Shino.

"Good morning, Shino! How is the green tea today?" She asked him cheerfully. In the past, Shino had asked her out for a date as well, but she had been much more polite in turning him down, and to this day they remained friends.

"It is delicious, as usual. Would you care to join us?" He motioned to the empty seat next to Kiba. She nodded, and Kiba made a big show of holding out the chair for her. She smiled and thanked him, appreciating the manners that Hinata had drilled into him over the years. What she didn't appreciate was him standing behind her for a few extra seconds just to stare down her cleavage. Normally, she would have made some comment about his pervyness, but she decided to ignore it today. Hopefully, Itachi was watching at this very second. He was a pro at concealing himself, and there was no one that could find him if he wanted to stay hidden. The waitress approached, and Sakura placed her order.

They spent a pleasant twenty minutes eating and discussing their training and missions they had been busy with. Sakura excused herself, and left quickly, not giving Kiba a chance to press her about that date. She ran off pretending that she was going to be late for work, and didn't stop running until she was out of sight. When she was sure that the coast was clear, she slowed down to a walk, and continued on to the hospital.

Along the way, she was greeted by people that she had treated at the hospital, she stopped several times to accept small gifts, and inquire about her former patients health. She also received several cat-calls, and three more requests for dates from Gemna, a civilian, and a visiting ninja from the Hidden Rain Village. She dodged them all with a friendly wave, a few pretty words, and entered the hospital.

* * *

><p>ITACHI'S POV:<p>

_So, my little cherry blossom is popular it seems_. Itachi watched as the Inuzuka heir blatantly ogled Sakura's chest as he helped her into her seat. He noticed the familiarity with which she greeted Shino Aburame, and saw a tiny smile cross the male's face. An unfamiliar feeling raised up in the pit of his stomach, but he ignored the sensation, setting it aside for later examination.

He followed Sakura when she left the tea shop and made her way towards the hospital. He noticed how many villagers greeted her and gave her little gifts of gratitude. She acknowledged all of them and even stopped to engage some of them in friendly conversation. He felt the sensation in his stomach start to burn as many men whistled at her lewdly, and by the time she was asked out by the fourth man, one not even from their village, he knew what it was he was feeling.

Jealousy. He smiled to his self ruefully. How ironic that the man that could have any woman he wanted could feel jealous of one petite, pink-haired kuniochi?


	6. Chapter 6 Bait Taken

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

ITACHI'S POV:

Itachi leaned forward bracing his arms against the shower wall as the hot water beat down on his tired body. He leaned his head back to wet his hair, and enjoyed the sensation of warmth soaking into his body. This last mission had been exhausting, and he just wanted to relax, get cleaned up, and go to sleep. In that particular order. He found his mind wandering unwillingly to a certain pinkette. He was becoming slightly alarmed by his growing interest in her, and his inability to remove her from his thoughts.

He spent most of time outside of missions stalking his new obsession. Sakura Haruno, the sweetheart of Kohona. At least that was he had dubbed her in his mind, but he had no doubt that if they ever held a contest, she would win hands down. She was the perfect woman. A blend of sweet and spicy. One minute she could be the sweetest person, treating a little boy with a broken arm gently, and two minutes later, punch a full-grown man through the wall for pinching her butt. Literally. It had happened yesterday, and in some sick way, he was even more turned on by her than ever.

He learned that she was truly dedicated to her patients, fellow teammates, and the village. She was a hard worker too, often training long hours with Naruto and Sasuke, only to take a shift at the hospital later that day. Sakura spent a lot of time researching and trying to improve on the medical jutsus that were currently being used. He was surprised to find that she was considered to be second only to the Hokage herself in medical expertise.

She was a loyal and caring friend as well. Several times he had witnessed her drop what she was doing to help a friend, the only exception being if a patient needed her. Her ditzy blonde friend Ino Yamanaka especially seemed to come cry on her shoulder a lot. No doubt over some man, because really that seems all the woman cared about. Once he had Sakura under his thumb, he fully intended to cut her ties to that slut.

It seemed that the more he studied her, the more she intrigued him, and his desire for her increased to an almost ridiculous level. Never before had he wanted a woman more, never had he walked around in a state of semi-arousal. Usually, if he saw a woman he desired, he would watch her for about a week or so, and then make his move. He was uncharacteristically hesitant to approach Sakura in such a manner though. She was special, not to mention the fact that she had already spurned his romantic advances once before. This would take some special planning on his part, but he knew that he would get her, it was just a matter of time. No woman could resist him forever, and he was prepared to do whatever he needed to do to have her.

Itachi sighed as stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He was going to have to approach her soon though, because his physical need for her was beginning to interfere with his ability to concentrate on missions. Just a few days ago, he had received a slash from a kunai that normally he would have avoided with no problem if he hadn't been daydreaming about what Sakura would look like spread out naked on his black silk sheets.

Just thinking about it brought back the images to his mind. Pink hair flowing all around her, her beautiful green eyes hazy with desire, the soft creamy smooth skin bare for his perusal, his touch. He spent much time speculating on the color of her nipples, and if pink was really her natural hair color. The image of her reaching up for him, beckoning him to come take her had his dick hard and aching in seconds. Grunting in irritation, he stepped back into the shower to take care of his 'problem'.


	7. Chapter 7 Revelation

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Sakura left the hospital after a particularly grueling double shift, and all she wanted to do was go home and fall into bed. She shuffled along, her chakra levels to the point where honestly, she should have stayed in one of the empty beds at the hospital, but she hated trying to sleep there. She would wake up every hour or so convinced that she had to jump up and get back to work, so it was hard to get any true rest there. She stopped outside her apartment door and fumbled for her keys, failing to notice the dark shape hovering just outside the circle of the porch light.

"Good evening, Sakura." A husky voice said.

The pinkette let out a squeak of surprise, dropping her keys as she raised her hand over her racing heart. Her fear instantly turned to anger as she saw who the intruder was.

"_I LOOK AND FEEL LIKE CRAP, AND NOW HE WANTS TO SHOW UP AND BE ALL ROMANTIC! REALLY!" _Sakura felt like crying, which only made her madder. Why couldn't he show up when she was looking pretty, and had plenty of energy to fend him off? It was totally unfair!

"I don't have the time or energy to make small talk right now, Uchiha-san. Please excuse me, I just finished a double shift at the hospital." She said, the irritation in her voice not concealed by her polite words. He raised one eyebrow, and the corner of his mouth twitched up.

"I know." He told her calmly. Sakura's jaw opened, and she starred at him in shock for a few seconds. Her shock gave way to more anger, and she glowered up at him.

"Then why are you here?" She asked bluntly.

"I wish to take care of you, since you took such excellent care of me in the hospital." Itachi informed her with an amused twinkle in his eye. He restrained himself from laughing at her outright when her mouth flapped like a fish at his words. After a full minute passed, Sakura managed to pull herself together enough to respond.

"That is hardly necessary, Uchiha-san." She told him frigidly. Itachi walked towards her slowly, bent over to retrieve her keys, and moved past her to unlock the door as if he had a perfect right to do so.

"Now look here, Uchiha-san! What the hell gives you the right to just-" He cut her off with a finger over her lips, as he had moved from the doorway with his trademark speed. Sakura's eyes widened with incredulity, and then narrowed briefly. That was Itachi's only warning before a chakra enhanced fist came straight at his face.

"You arrogant bastard!" She screamed as she attempted to land a hit on him. Luckily for Itachi, and unfortunately for Sakura, he was way too fast for her in her weakened state. He parried effortlessly, and then caught her right before she passed out from chakra exhaustion. Chuckling to himself, he lifted her more securely into his arms before carrying her into her apartment.

Itachi kicked the door shut with his heel, and walked back towards her bedroom. He had plenty of time to scope out her apartment while she was at work. He knew that his behavior had crossed over the line when he found himself caressing a lace thong in her underwear drawer. Deciding that in the end, it didn't matter because she was already his, she just had yet to be informed of it. He felt completely justified, and deliberately steered clear from any deep thought as to the hidden urges behind his behavior. He desired her and he would take her, it was as simple as that.

Of course, it didn't explain the strange surge of tenderness that overtook him as he looked down into her exhausted face, or his sudden urge to spend the night cuddling her. It didn't explain his anger at the Hokage for allowing Sakura to reach this stage of chakra depletion. His little theory also didn't cover why he suddenly decided to put off his seduction plan and take care of her as if she was a child either.

Regardless of her vulnerability, when he undressed her to put her in a cherry scented bubble bath, his body reacted to the sight. He discovered that she was indeed a natural pinkette, and that she had the most suckable red nipples he had ever seen. It took ever ounce of willpower he possessed to remind himself that taking a woman while she was unconscious was one line he wasn't willing to cross. Sweating and cursing, he forced himself to wash and rinse her quickly, and then he wrapped her in a towel, placing her under the covers.

As Itachi starred down at the defenseless young woman, he knew that something had changed for him. This attraction, or whatever it was, was not following any previous patterns he held for dealing with women. She was no ordinary woman, and he could no longer pretend that he just wanted sex from her. She was wrapped around every thought in his head, every fiber of his body responded to her, and he wanted to kill every man that so much as looked at her. He reached out and stroked the side of her face gently, before turning to leave the room.

Itachi went into the kitchen and returned the takeout he had bought into the original cartons, placing them into the refrigerator for Sakura to find when she woke up. He blew out the candle he had placed on the table to set the mood, and dumped the wine down the sink, before washing the glasses out. He then wrote her a note, taped it to her alarm clock, and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before exiting the apartment.


	8. Chapter 8 Poor Alarm Clock

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

A cat slinked along the wooden fence, intend on finding an early morning meal. It stealthily approached the wren perched further down the same fence. Just as he was getting ready to pounce on his prey, the most god awful shriek of female anger echoed through the air. The bird took off instantly, and the cat jumped straight up, then fell ungracefully from the edge of the fence, letting out a howl of fear. It shot off down the alley as though the demons of hell were after it.

Inside Sakura's apartment, the pinkette had let loose the cry that had lost the cat one of his nine lives. Finding herself naked under the covers was not a pleasant way to wake up. She was covered head-to-toe in a brilliant blush. One thought kept running through her head over and over.

"_ITACHI SAW ME NAKED! HE SAW ME NAKED! HE UNDRESSED ME AND SAW ME NAKED! NAKED! NAKED! OH MY GOD, HE SAW ME NAKED!" _Sakura was wailing in her own head, this was the most embarrassed she had ever been in her entire life.

"**CHA! ITACHI-KUN SAW US NAKED! TO BAD WE WEREN'T AWAKE FOR IT! CAN'T YOU JUST IMAGINE THE LOOK IN HIS EYES AS WE SLOWLY-" **'Inner' was practically melting. Images of all the things that Sakura would love to do with Itachi naked poured into her head, and she literally hit herself in the head to rid herself of them.

"_JUST SHUT UP! CAN'T YOU THINK ABOUT ANYTHING BUT SEX! HE VIOLATED ME!" _Sakura shrieked to herself.

"**NO, I AM SURE THAT WE WOULD BE DELICIOUSLY SORE IF ITACHI-KUN HAD VIOLATED US….DAMN." **'Inner' sighed in disappointment. Sakura gritted her teeth as she fought to not feel disappointed as well. She wanted to hang onto her righteous anger as long as she could, but from the way her body was tingling at the thought of Itachi's touch, she was having trouble.

Panic suddenly ran through her at the thought that Itachi might still be in the apartment. She leapt back into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin as she desperately scanned the room for any evidence of his presence. Her eyes landed on the conspicuously placed note taped to her alarm clock. Shutting her eyes, she let her chakra filter through the apartment, trying to sense if he was in any of the other rooms. She breathed a sigh of relief, and then sat up and snatched the note off the clock, scanning it quickly.

.

_._

_Sakura,_

_I took the liberty of making you a bit more comfortable before leaving you to sleep and recover. There is tempura from your favorite restaurant in the refrigerator, and a nice white wine to go with it. I look forward to spending more time with you in the future, hopefully while you are conscious. Though I must admit, you are beautiful when you sleep. I think that all things considering, it would be appropriate for you to call me Itachi now._

_I. U._

_._

_._

"_THAT-THAT-THAT.." _Sakura let out a scream that resembled that of a banshee, and with one swipe of her fist, demolished her nightstand and alarm clock into splinters.

"**OH MY GOD, HE THINKS WE ARE BEAUTIFUL!"** 'Inner' shrieked in glee. If anything, it enraged Sakura more that her subconscious was on Itachi's side.

"_THIS IS WAR!"_


	9. Chapter 9 Three Inch Heels

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Sakura walked to Ino's house with a smug little grin on her face. She had consulted with Hinata and Naruto, and they had agreed with her that it was time to proceed with the second stage of the operation.

Go on a date someone else.

Getting Kiba to set a date for the following evening had been ridiculously easy. He practically panted at her, which she noted with well-hidden disgust. She didn't even have to flirt at all, she just asked him if he was ready to take her out, and he immediately jumped at the chance. She would have used Shino for the plan, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Kiba had the emotional depth of a flea, so she didn't feel too bad about using him. Well, she felt a little bad, but since she was sure that he only wanted to get her into bed, she wasn't too worried about it.

Currently, she was headed to Ino to get her expertise on dolling up for the date. She was one hundred percent certain that Itachi would be watching tonight, and she wanted to look good. Partly because she wanted to let him see what she looked like when she dressed up, and partly to make him jealous that she was out with another man looking beautiful. She hadn't let Ino in on the plan, because honestly, the girl couldn't resist the urge to gossip. All she told her when she called was that she needed the 'full service makeover', and Ino was totally on board. She had been begging Sakura for a long time to let her do it, but Sakura hadn't been interested enough in anyone to go for it.

Arriving at her destination, Sakura raised a hand to knock, but she was yanked into Ino's house before she her fist could connect with the door.

"Forehead! I am so-o-o excited! You won't regret this I promise!" Ino squealed shrilly. She pulled Sakura impatiently up the stairs and into her bedroom, where she had several outfits already laid out for the pinkette to pick from. Sakura looked them over with growing horror. Almost every single one showed the maximum amount of skin possible.

She sighed in relief when she saw that the last selection was semi-modest. It was beautiful, a deep ruby red velvet corset top with spaghetti straps and a laced up the front with a black satin ribbon that tied in a cute little bow at the top. The skirt that went with the top was a black velvet swing-style, one of Sakura's favorite styles because of how the skirts twirled gracefully around her legs. Ino had chosen black velvet three inch heels that would fasten around Sakura's ankles with a black satin ribbon that matched the corset.

The outfit was definitely seductive, but it covered a lot more than all the others she had to choose from. Ino smiled knowingly when Sakura indicated her choice.

"I had a feeling that was the one you would pick out, Forehead. It's your signature colors after all." She said archly. After Sakura put on the outfit, Ino pulled her over to her dressing table and made her sit down. She skillfully enhanced Sakura's eyes with a slightly smoky look, and colored her lips with a deep reddish tinted gloss. Satisfied that she had the pinkette's makeup perfect, she turned her attention to Sakura's glossy pink locks.

She used the curling iron to create loose curls all over her friend's hair, and then pulled up the top most layers in a loose bun that she decorated with a few artfully placed black velvet roses. When she finally let Sakura see herself, the pinkette was amazed. In the mirror, she saw a petite sexy woman. She twirled around once, and laughed joyfully, feeling completely feminine. Sakura hugged Ino enthusiastically.

"It's perfect Ino-pig! I am going to knock his socks off!" She said gleefully.

"Honey, you are going to knock off the socks off every single man that gets a good look at you tonight!" Ino threw her head back and laughed at the look of dismay that took over Sakura's face.


	10. Chapter 10 Itachi's Shock

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Kiba's eyes almost popped out of his head when he his first look at Sakura. He turned red, gulped, and just stood there starring at her. Sakura was flattered for the first moment or two, until he made no move to speak or come towards her. Impatiently, she huffed and crossed her arms under her chest, and his eyes bulged as the motion cause her already pushed up breasts to strain the boundaries of the corset top. A steady trickle of blood ran down out of his nostrils. Sakura rolled her eyes and then cleared her throat loudly, which brought him back to his senses.

Kiba swiped hastily at the blood on his face, and then stepped forward to offer his arm to Sakura. She unbend sufficiently to give him a small smile and take his arm. They headed to the restaurant they had agreed on. Along the way, Kiba searched for something to talk about, which he normally would have no problem with. But she looked so incredible, it was almost like he was escorting a total stranger. The closer they got into the heart of the village, the more attention Sakura was getting. Several men turned away after sprouting massive nosebleeds, many yelled out indecent proposals, and one bold civilian actually threw himself at her feet and proposed.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, Kiba was glowing with pride at having a date with the most desirable woman in Kohona. Sakura, on the other hand, was mortified. She knew that she would gather some extra attention, but it was completely insane how all the men were acting. He cheeks were red, and she was feeling more than a little bit like a hunk of meat. Kiba held the door open for her, and ushered her in with a hand on her lower back. She stepped away from him nimbly as he started to let his hand slide down towards her butt.

The maitre d' led them to their table, and Sakura was relieved to see that it was set in the corner at the very back of the restaurant where most of the rest of the diners wouldn't be able to stare at them all night. Kiba held out her chair for her, again checking out her cleavage as he did. The waitress came and they ordered. After a few failed attempts at conversation, they finally managed to find started talking about past missions they had been on together. Kiba excused himself to go use the bathroom while they were waiting on dessert, and Sakura sighed in relief as she let the strained smile slip off her face.

The waitress delivered their chocolate brownie cakes, and Sakura waited for Kiba out of sheer politeness when all she really wanted to do was tear into the decadent treat. Fifteen minutes past, and Kiba still wasn't back before Sakura finally gave in and took her first bite. It was absolute heaven on her tongue, and she closed her eyes to savor it, allowing a tiny moan of pleasure to escape. Something tipped her off that she wasn't alone, the slight scrap of the chair being moved, or maybe it was the intense anger she felt directed at her. She opened her eyes in alarm, and found that she was looking straight into fully activated Sharigan eyes.

"_OH CRAP!" _Sakura resisted the urge to run, thought it was a hard to do. Something in his eyes warned her that if she ran, he would take great pleasure in chasing her down. As a matter of fact, there was a gleam of challenge in Itachi's eyes, almost as if he was daring her to do it. His eyes accused her and found her guilty all at once, making her feel vulnerable. Which automatically put her on the defensive.

"Uchiha-san, is there a reason why you are interrupting my date?" She asked him in irritation.

"If you were remotely intelligent, you would refrain from angering me further." Itachi bit out between clenched teeth. Sakura sat back in her chair quickly, due to anger and a small bit of fear, which she refused to acknowledge to herself.

"Alright, what the hell is your problem? I am the one with the right to be upset here! You walk in and interrupt my date, and then you have the nerve to insult my intelligence? And **I **should refrain from angering **you**?" Sakura's chest heaved as she panted in anger. Despite himself, Itachi's eyes were drawn to the tantalizing view. His eyes narrowed in anger, both at himself and at Sakura.

He starred into her eyes, and realized from the puzzled anger that she was displaying that she honestly had no idea of why he was angry. _Was it possible? Did she really not know what she was doing wrong? _

"I believe that any man would be upset to find his woman on a date with another man." He said somewhat calmly. Sakura eyes widened. Itachi was satisfied with her reaction until she responded.

"Your woman? Your woman? I beg to differ, Uchiha-san! No man owns me, especially not some..some closet man whore! And if you think that I am going to sign some stupid contract, you have another thing coming!" She whispered furiously before standing up and stalking off, leaving Itachi sitting at the table in shock.

_She knows about the contract? How could she possibly kno-SASUKE!_


	11. Chapter 11 Itachi's POV

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

FLASHBACK: ITACHI POV

Itachi felt the anticipation hum through his body. He had hurried through the short mission the Hokage sent him on, and now he was on his way to see his little cherry blossom. He was eager to see whether or not she was going to be stubborn or not. He knew her well enough to know that embarrassment and then anger were going to be her first reactions upon waking up naked and reading his note. What he wasn't entirely sure of was if she was going to keep running from his obvious interest in her.

In his eyes, by putting her to bed without touching her sexually and then leaving, he was making what was tantamount to a declaration. For the first time in his adult life, he wanted more than sex from a female. The elders had been pushing him to get married, but he had refused to choose a candidate up to this point. But he could see himself married to Sakura. She was beautiful, fiery, sexy, highly skilled, kind, loyal, and she was no fan girl. He grimaced as he acknowledged that she would be much more easy to get if she was a fan girl. But then he wouldn't have wanted her.

He almost chuckled when he thought about how the clan meeting would go when he informed the elders of his choice. He could hear his grandfather protesting, not for any significant objection, but because of her pink hair. 'A pink-haired Uchiha! Not in a million years!' Itachi broke down and laughed briefly. It was a ludicrous thought that he may have a pink-headed son. The Uchiha genes were dominant in every pairing, so it was impossible, but the mental image was amusing.

His arrival at Sakura's apartment pulled him out of his thoughts and focused on seeing his woman. He knocked and then waited for her to answer. About a minute and a half passed, and Itachi scanned her apartment for her chakra signature, only to find her gone. _So she's run. Well, that just makes finding her that much more satisfying. _He filed through all the places she may have taken refuge, and headed off to the first place, Naruto's apartment. While he didn't find her there, he did discover that the Hyuuga heir and Nine-tails host were in a rather intimate relationship.

He checked the hospital next, and learned that it was her night off. He went to the last place on his mental list, hoping that she wouldn't be there. Ino Yamanaka was the village's biggest gossip, and he didn't want their relationship to go public until after he had told his clan first. Deciding that he would settle onto the rooftop and wait for her to come out, he was totally unprepared for what he saw when he arrived.

There was Sakura, his Sakura, looking incredibly provocative in a maroon and black velvet outfit that screamed 'Fuck me!'. In two seconds flat his dick hardened, and he was getting ready to leapt down and pin her to the wall, gossip be damned, when he noticed the Inuzuka brat swipe at his bloody nose and offer her his arm.

He literally saw red as his Sharigan activated without conscious thought on his part. _OH HELL NO! His woman did not just dress up like a slut to go out on a date with another man!_ He was so shocked that for a few seconds he couldn't move, while he watched his cherry blossom smile and take the arm offered to her. She touched another man! His woman reached out and voluntary touched another man in a non-healing, non-combative way! He watched the sexy sway of her hips as they walked away, and his erection throbbed in time to her rhythm of her steps.

Anger poured through his body, stronger than anything he had ever experienced before in his entire life. He followed them, waiting for an opportune moment to ambush them and rip the younger man head off for touching, no- looking at his woman. As for his cherry blossom, she better hope like hell that he calmed down a little bit after killing the Inuzuka. The way he felt right now, she wouldn't be seeing the light of day for a month, and when she did, she wouldn't be able to walk a straight line!

Itachi gritted his teeth as he watched and listened to the reactions of all the men that were looking at his cherry blossom. His anger rose even higher, and he was outraged that she would expose her charms to the male population in such an obvious way. His only consolation was the uncomfortable look on her face. It was obvious to him that she was discomforted by all the attention she was garnering.

He dropped down here and there to teach the more offensive commentors a lesson in respecting his property. The maggoty civilian that had the nerve to propose to her, he ignored, afraid that he might actually kill the man. Uchiha protected the villagers, not slaughtered them. He had to repeat this to himself like a mantra as he followed the couple to the restaurant. He cloaked his body and slipped into the building unseen, taking up a position where he could see and hear everything that happened. Itachi gritted his teeth when he saw Sakura evade the brat's roving hand.

He managed to calm down a little as he watched and noticed that other than the food, she wasn't enjoying her date. Her answers were forced, and her smile was strained. His more rational side started to kick in, and he began to speculate about her reasons behind going out on this farce of a date. Was she trying to make him jealous, or was she just running from him desperately? Whatever her motives were, she wasn't going to escape from this unscathed. Uchiha men did not tolerate infidelity in their mates.

He saw his opportunity when Kiba excused himself to go to the bathroom and followed him stealthily. Making sure than no one else was in the room, Itachi cast a genjutsu on the door, making it disappear, and then erected a sound barrier. He unmasked his presence as strolled over casually towards the Inuzuka.

"So, Sakura Haruno. You are one lucky man." Itachi said. Kiba got a lewd smile on his face.

"Yeah, and hopefully I'll be even more lucky at the end of the night." He chuckled. Itachi's teeth ground together audibly, and in a lightening fast move, he reached out and grabbed the hand that Kiba had used to try and grab Sakura's ass. There was an audible snap, and Kiba let out a strangled shout of pain.

"What the hell was that for?" The young man hissed through his teeth. Itachi released his grip and took a step back.

"Sakura is mine. You used that hand to attempt to cop a feel of what is mine. I was merely instructing you on what happens when a man touches what I consider to be mine." Itachi told him sternly. Kiba's eyes grew large in alarm.

"Hey man, I didn't know! She approached me about the date, not the other way around!" Kiba said desperately as he backed away warily.

"I don't care. What I do care about is that you stay away from her from now on. This is the only warning you will receive, stay away from Sakura!" Itachi Sharigan flashed, and Kiba was caught in a genjutsu. He fell to his knees and grabbed his crotch protectively.

Satisfied that he had gotten his point across to the younger man, Itachi went to confront Sakura.

.

.

END OF FLASHBACK

_I think it is time I went to find my foolish little brother!_


	12. Chapter 12 Mother!

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Itachi left the restaurant and headed over to the Uchiha compound. He was sure that he would find his brother there, since he had just returned from a mission. Sneaking past his mother and up the stairs, he entered Sasuke room noiselessly, then cast a silence jutsu. He jumped on his brother quickly, and immobilized Sasuke before he even had a chance to wake up.

"Itachi- what is going on?" He asked sleepily before realizing that he was tied up like a Thanksgiving turkey. He struggled against the ropes, growling angrily when he discovered that every time he moved, the ropes tightened. Itachi pulled the chair over from the desk, turned it around, and sat down. As he starred menacingly down at Sasuke, he reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai knife in an unhurried motion. Casually, he began cleaning out from under his nails with the knife, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's face.

Sasuke was starting to panic. He had never been on the receiving end of Itachi's anger before. A few brotherly pranks here and there, mostly to play with the stoic male, but he had never reacted like this before. What is this about? Several minutes past, and Itachi didn't break his silence. Finally, just as Sasuke's nerves were on the verge of breaking, his older brother spoke.

"It seems that a certain someone can't be trusted to hold his tongue. Perhaps I should remove it?" He said in a silky, contemplative voice.

"Itachi, what is this about? Why are you so-" Sasuke shut up quickly when the kunai knife was suddenly an inch away from his face.

"Foolish little brother, do you know why I never wanted anyone to know about my love life?" Itachi questioned bitingly. Since the knife had not moved from his face, Sasuke figured that he had better just remain quiet.

"It wasn't just for the pride of the clan. I didn't want whatever woman I finally decided to marry to think that all I wanted from her was sex. Since I didn't tell anyone, the women didn't tell anyone, that leaves only one person that could have told Sakura." Sasuke's eyes widened in apprehension.

"Sakura? You want to marry Sakura?" He mumbled in shock.

"I do. I must say, I was wondering why she seemed offended whenever I approached her. Well, I just found out. It seems she is under the impression that I am quote, 'a closet man-whore'. So where did get that idea, hmmm, foolish little brother?" Itachi's voice reflected his anger, and he let a killing intent aura leak out into the air. He leaned down towards Sasake.

"That's enough Itachi! It's not nice to blame your mistakes on other people. Both men froze and then turned there heads quickly to see there mother standing in the doorway.

"Mother? How did you-" Itachi was shocked. No one had ever sensed one of his silence jutsus before, let alone broke one. She shook her head at him, and pinned him with a steady look.

"You know darling, it is very arrogant of you to assume that you just sprang up a genius from nowhere. Doesn't it stand to reason that one or both of your parents would be highly skilled as well?" She asked him condescendingly. Itachi's eyes narrowed in consideration. The truth was, he had never given the matter a thought one way or another.

"I was a highly decorated ANBU captain before I fell in love with your father. Of course, no one in this sexist clan would bother to acknowledge that, now would they? I was upset to learn about the way you have been conducting your affairs Itachi. I had hoped that any son of mine would have more respect for women." She said in disgust. Itachi shot an accusatory look at Sasuke. She followed his eyes, and let out a little giggle.

"No, Sasuke didn't tell me. After you turned down the fifth match the elders found for you, I was worried that you were gay, so I began a little investigation of my own. Imagine my shock and disappointment when I learned that my eldest son was a promiscuous jerk." She said in dark amusement.

"I must say that I think it is ironic that the woman you finally fell in love with thinks that you are a sexist pig, and doesn't want anything to do with you." With that comment, she threw a lightening fast shuriken, which cut through the ropes holding down Sasuke. The brothers jaws dropped, and she gave them a slight smile.

"If I were you, I would go to her and grovel at her feet. It worked for your father." On that parting shot, she turned gracefully and disappeared. Itachi and Sasuke turned to look at each other.

"I never knew Mother could be so-" Sasuke started to say.

"Scary." Itachi finished the thought. They looked at each other in complete agreement.


	13. Chapter 13  AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry to do this to you guys…I hate it when one of my favorites just writes a note instead of a true update. Just wanted to let you know I haven't given up on the story, but I have a bad eye/face infection that has swelled the whole left side of my face.

Having one eye available (and my weak one at that), has thrown off my depth perception and makes it really hard to type, so until it clears up enough that I can open up the other eye, no more updates.

Again my apologies….L


	14. Chapter 14 Not What She Had In Mind

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

And she's back folks! After a couple of days of eye drops and antibiotics big enough to choke a horse, her eyesight has returned!

"Stupid Uchiha! Who the hell does he think he is anyway! He has no right to tell me that I am HIS woman, and act all he-man macho!" Sakura seethed as she ripped the roses from her hair.

"**STILL IT WAS PRETTY SEXY-THAT POSSESSIVE GLARE, AND BARELY UNDER CONTROL TEMPER! I'M IN YOUR BODY TOO, SO DON'T EVEN TRY TO PRETEND THAT IT DIDN'T MAKE YOU WANT TO MELT!" **'Inner' said slyly.

"_SO WHAT IF HE IS SEXY! CALLING ME HIS WOMAN! WHAT ARE WE- CAVEPEOPLE?" _Sakura huffed angrily. She lifted her arms to let the pins out of her hair, and twirled around leaping into a defensive position when she felt the chakra signature behind her. Her jaw dropped in shock when she realized it was Itachi.

"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM?" Sakura screamed shrilly.

"I needed to talk to you, and I knew that you would more than likely slam the door in my face." Itachi said calmly.

"Damn straight! Now get the hell out of my house, and stay away from me!" She hissed at him venomously.

"No." He refused.

"Why you-" Sakura filled her fist with chakra, and aimed for his head. In a slick move, Itachi caught her hand, and twirled her around, pinning her between his body and the wall. Sakura struggled against him, cussing and yelling out threats of what she was going to do to him once she was free. Itachi pressed her harder to the wall, pushing his stiff erection against her buttocks. Instantly, Sakura froze in place.

"Are you ready to listen?" Itachi asked huskily while rubbing back and forth against her. Sakura let out a shuddering breath, and went limp, her knees refusing to hold her up. This was what she was afraid of the whole time- why she didn't want him to touch her. She wouldn't be able to resist him. She was already wet just from feeling him rub up against her, and they still had all their clothes on. Itachi leaned down and delicately traced the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue, before taking the lobe into his mouth and sucking it lightly. Sakura let out an involuntary moan, and pushed back against him before she could stop herself. Itachi growled and thrust himself against her ass.

"I have controlled myself up until now, my little cherry blossom. You have no idea how much I want to rip your clothes off, suck those beautiful red nipples of yours, and bury my aching cock inside you. So unless you want to be taken before I explain myself, I suggest you hold still." He told in a strained voice.

At the mental images that Itachi painted for her, Sakura grew so wet that her juices started to slip down her thighs. She gasped and her nipples hardened almost to the point of pain. She felt pleasurable mini-spasms fire off in her womb, and she couldn't resist the urge to press back against his hardened arousal one more time.

"Fuck woman! I am not made of stone- hold still! I need to-" Sakura wiggled one more time, deliberately rubbing her ass against his dick, and Itachi lost the battle over his self-control. In a few seconds flat, he had Sakura laid out on her bed, the corset unlaced, and suckling hard on of her delectable red nipples. Sakura's back arched up off the bed, and she cried out in pleasure, as she brought up her hands, burying them in his hair to hold his mouth to her breast.

Itachi groaned harshly, and his dick throbbed, pre-cum starting to leak out already. He treated her other nipple to the same treatment, and then kissed her passionately, his tongue wrestling with hers as they explored each other's mouths. Fumbling desperately, Itachi yanked up her short skirt, and ripped off her panties. He growled into her mouth when he felt how wet she was, and before she had a chance to think, his mouth replaced his fingers.

Sakura screamed out his name, orgasming as he thrust his tongue into her pussy again and again, lapping up her juices. He kept going until she laid under him quivering, and then he switched techniques on her.

"Oh god Itachi! You have to stop! I can't take any-" Sakura pleaded to no avail, as Itachi flicked his tongue over her clit, and thrust two fingers into her tight pussy. As she begged and writhed underneath his mouth, he worked her up into a second orgasm, this one lasting longer, and causing intense waves of pleasure to rock through her womb. After licking her clean, he pulled back and starred down at her with a dark hunger in his eyes.

Sakura looked up at him, her eyes glazed over with pleasure and apprehension at what she saw in his eyes. She laid there unable to move as he rose up and quickly undressed. Her eyes widened when she saw how big his dick was. It was almost ten inches long and thick. Just the sight of it scared her, and perversely enough, made her womb throb while her mouth watered. Seeing the lust take her over, Itachi climbed on top of her and in one smooth motion, thrust into her until he touched her cervix.

Sakura screamed his name and threw her head back, tossing it back in forth on the pillows as he began pounding into her. Each thrust was harder and deeper, and just as she felt her third climax of the night start to build, Itachi grabbed her face. He forced her to look up into his eyes.

"You are mine. (THRUST) From this moment (THRUST), until the day we die. (THRUST) Marry me!" He growled at her, as she flew over the edge into mindless pleasure, and her tight pussy clamped down onto him, the force of her spasming muscles forcing him to cum. He threw his head back and shouted out her name, as the waves of intense pleasure rippled through his body, milking him dry of every drop of semen.

Itachi pulled out her, and collapsed to one side, pulling her into his arms. For several minutes, they both relished the aftershocks rocking their bodies as they focused on learning to breathe again. Itachi started to chuckle, and Sakura raised her head wearily to glare at him.

"What?" She asked a bit belligerently.

"When Mother told me that I should grovel at your feet, I don't think this is what she had in mind." He told her with laughter still quivering in his voice. Sakura blushed bright red, and despite herself, she began to laugh with him. Eventually, they stopped laughing, and Itachi starred into her eyes, with a totally uncharacteristic shyness.

"So?" He asked softly.

"So what?" Sakura teased gently, as she twirled a lock of his hair around one of her fingers. Itachi reached out and cupped her cheek tenderly.

"Sakura Haruno- will you marry me?" He asked.


	15. Chapter 15 Dark Possession

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"No." Sakura told him, and watched as the tenderness on his face turned to stony.

"Why not!" He growled impatiently. She almost laughed, but she could detect the tiny amount of hurt behind his anger.

"I think that I understand now that I am not just another woman you desire, however, I can't marry a man that I haven't even gone out on one date with. I know nothing about you besides what Sasuke told me, and the few interactions we've had." Sakura told him decisively.

"I would say that you know me better than most of the population." He purred as he rolled her under him, rubbing his body against hers. Sakura let out an involuntary moan, and Itachi smirked down at her, thinking that he had negated her argument.

"Just because my body wants you doesn't mean I should marry you!" She said breathlessly. Itachi ignored her words, and nuzzled her neck. Sakura shivered pleasurably underneath him, as her body responded to his touch. His lips traveled down, skimming her delicate collarbone and then kissing a path down to her raspberry nipples. She moaned deeply and arched up as he licked, nibbled, and finally sucked strongly on the erect nubs. Itachi let out a husky triumphant masculine chuckle, and the sound of it pissed Sakura off.

"You aren't the first Uchiha male I've been in this position with, and I didn't marry him either!" She told him irritably. When Itachi went completely still against her, Sakura realized that she had made a mistake in revealing that information to him. Slowly, he pulled away from her body, and held himself braced above her, glaring into her eyes, the tomoes of his Sharigan swirling. She bit her lip, and looked away from him apprehensively. In mere seconds, Itachi had her pinned under his hard body, her hands pinned above her head, held in one of his large hands, while his other hand forced her to meet his eyes.

"Who?" He asked, the softness of his voice not hiding the violent intent behind his question. Sakura attempted to look away again, but Itachi gripped her face tighter, refusing to let her escape his eyes.

"It doesn't matter." She told him almost fearfully. Sakura squirmed underneath him in an attempt to get loose. He was starting to scare her, although his forcefulness was turning her on in some twisted way. Itachi squeezed her wrists painfully, as he forced his body further down onto her, making her sink into the soft mattress.

"I asked you a question." He growled at her. Something sparked inside of Sakura, and instead of answering him like her survival instincts where clamoring for her to, she decided to resist.

"Not only does it NOT matter, but it is NONE of YOUR business." She spat at him. For a few brief seconds, everything in the room stopped. Then Itachi grinned down at her, and it truly frightened her. His excellent white straight teeth shown, and he was incredibly handsome, causing moisture to pool between her legs once again. What scared her was the fact that there was no trace of civility left in his eyes. They glowed with a feral, possessive light that held none of his usual iron-clad self control.

"Wrong answer, cherry blossom." He said silkily. The tomoes in his eyes stopped swirling and engaged. Sakura tried to look away, but before she could, he was already in her mind, pulling out the information that he was seeking. She tried to protest, but he sent her to sleep as he delved deeper into her memories. He examined her interactions with men, especially his cousin and younger brother. Itachi started to calm down when he realized that she didn't have any amorous memories of Sasuke, and the whole mess with Shisui was a one time deal. He actually felt a little sympathetic towards her when he realized how humiliated she still was by the whole incident. Just a little though, because he hated the thought of another man laying hands on her, whether or not they remembered it or not.

For it to be another Uchiha seemed like yet a deeper betrayal. The damn clan tried to take everything from him, and force him to be their puppet. His childhood, his freedom, his choices, and now his cherry blossom, the one bright spot in his life had been corrupted by the clan already. No more- they would take no more from him! In a split second decision, Itachi created an illusion that suited him, and brought Sakura awake in it.

"Itac-itachi? What is going on?" She asked him as she yawned. When she tried to stretch, she discovered that she couldn't. Panicking, she searched her body, and found that she was tied down to a luxurious ornately carved four poster bed. It had a canopy of white billowing sheer fabric, and around the room candles were lit, casting a romantic light. She could just see the moonlit ocean rolling against the beach, the sound of the waves soothing to her ears. Unconsciously, she relaxed a little, and turned back to Itachi.

"How did we get here?" Sakura asked in a bewildered tone.

"I crafted this illusion for us…this is where I planned to bring you for our honeymoon. We would be interrupted at your apartment, and I have to leave on a mission in a few hours, so I brought you here to teach your lesson." He explained calmly. A trickle of unease slid down spine, as Sakura starred up at him. Suddenly, the events of the last twelve hours filled her head, and she growled up at him.

"You mind-fucked me!" She screamed up at him in accusation.

"I merely looked for the information you withheld, nothing more, nothing less." He replied calmly.

"That's bullshit! I know that you are called in on the cases when Ibiki can't get the information out of prisoners with the normal methods!" She panted with rage, as she struggled against the velvet ropes holding her wrists. This action caused her breasts to bounce, and Itachi's attention switched from their conversation to his desire for her. With no warning whatsoever, he latched onto one of her nipples as he plunged two fingers into her still wet pussy. Sakura's back arched up off the bed, and she let out a scream of shock and pleasure. Itachi continued his ministrations for several minutes, then pulled away from her breast to look down at her, still caressing her deeply.

The sight of her took his breath away. In the candlelight, her creamy skin was covered in a fine layer of sweat, causing it to gleam as she writhed in pleasure. Her long pink hair was scattered across the pillows and tousled, and her beautiful green eyes were glazed over with passion. Itachi began to pant heavily, and the last remaining dregs of his control were lost. He traced the pattern of a seal over her abdomen, and another on her neck, before climbing on top of her.

"Who do you belong to?" He demanded as he rubbed the head of his penis up and down along her opening. Sakura mewled underneath him and arched her hips up enticingly. Itachi chuckled darkly, even as he gritted his teeth with the effort to hold back from thrusting into her.

"Not yet, not until you tell me who you belong to!" He bit out between his clenched teeth as he entered her a few inches. Sakura started crying in frustration as he rocked against her.

"WHO!" He commanded.

"Oh god Itachi! You, alright! You!" She screamed as she writhed under him desperately.

"Exactly, and now you won't ever forget." He said with satisfaction as he finally gave into both their desires and plunged into her a deeply as he could go, while biting her on the neck. White hot pleasure and pain mixed through her body, settling in her womb and the spot on her neck that he was sucking on. After a few seconds, he pulled away from her neck, and focused all his efforts into bringing them both fulfillment. All it too was a few more deep thrusts, and Itachi stiffened against her as she convulsed around him, crying out in ecstasy. He spilled his seed into her, and the seal on her abdomen glowed. Sakura cried out one last time before she lost consciousness, overwhelmed by the intense pleasure Itachi forced on her.

He pulled out of her, and fell onto his back beside her. Exhausted as he was, he rolled over and ran his fingers over the still glowing seal in satisfaction. He reached up and touched the spot on her neck with a small amount of healing chakra, before giving in to his need to sleep. He still had time to get a few hours of sleep before he headed out on his mission. That was one of the advantages of his advanced technique. Only minutes passed in the real world, while hours passed in his illusionary world. Itachi untied her, and settled her into his arms with a smirk on his face.

_She's mine, and she'll never get away now_.


	16. Chapter 16 A Mother's Disappointment

I DO NOT NARUTO

"Sakura." She heard a voice talking to her softly. A gentle hand stroked over her hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. She snuggled deeper into the warm blankets and let out a small mew of protest. She felt a chuckle vibrate through the pillow she was laying on. Wait, the pillow was laughing? Groggily, she opened her eyes to find that she naked as the day she was born, cuddled up to an equally naked Itachi Uchiha who was smirking down at her.

With a small shriek of shock, she leapt out of the bed, and starred at him in shock. When she saw his eyes doing a slow sweep of her body, she eeped and snatched the blankets off the bed to cover herself with. Which, of course, meant that his body was displayed in all it's awesome glory. Unconsciously, she bit her lip as she surveyed him from his shapely feet up to his six-pack, past the perfect pecs, and to his handsome face. He was waiting for her to look into his eyes, and he quirked an arched eyebrow at her. She flushed gently, until she noticed that his manhood was reacting to her perusal of his body. She turned beet red and shut her eyes as she heard him chuckle.

"As much as I would like to take advantage of your obvious interest, I have a mission. I will inform my father about the betrothal, and I suggest that you meet up with my mother soon. She will be able to help you get settled in by the time I get back." He told her complacently as he rose to get dressed.

"What are you talking about Itachi? I didn't agree, in fact, I distinctly remember tell you no." She told him, as her shock was giving way to irritation. He turned to her and pinned her down on the bed, kissing her on the neck. Intense spasms of pleasure washed through her womb, and she was helpless to stop the sharp moan that rose to her lips.

"I don't have time to reinforce the lesson, but as soon as I am finished with my mission, I will be happy to give you a refresher course." He told her huskily.

At his words, her mind was swapped with images, and she began pushing at him angry and scared beyond any point she could remember being. He had actually used his Sharigan against her! Just as she was getting ready to pump chakra into her hands and force him off of her, he bit that spot on her neck, and she screamed as an intense orgasm swept over her. Sakura laid under him, panting heavily as her body calmed down.

"What have you done to me?" She asked him in a small voice. Itachi frowned as he examined her. As he reached out towards her, she cowered away from his touch.

"Sakura?" He asked gently. Again, he tried to touch her, but she shied away from him. He slowly took her face in between his hands and forced her to look him in the eyes. What he saw there shocked him. She was terrified. He frowned, and then closed his eyes in pain. He had pushed her too far. He hurt the one person who was most important to him.

Too late, he understood that he had gone about his whole courtship the wrong way. Sakura was a woman that prided herself on her intelligence and self-control. By forcing his will on her, taking away her control over her body, he had violated her as surely as if he had raped her. Cussing silently and fluently to himself, Itachi placed her back under with his sleep jutsu, then quickly dressed her. Carefully, he gathered her into his arms and transported them to his room in the Uchiha compound, where he tenderly tucked her into his bed, and then went to find his mother. She was in the kitchen, making his favorite rice balls. She glanced up as he walking in, a small smirk on her face until she saw his face.

"What's wrong? Is someone hurt?" She watched in shock as he crossed the kitchen quickly, and did something he hadn't done since he was a small boy. He fell to his knees, and hugged her tightly, his face tucked into her stomach. She hugged him back, stroking his hair, as he shook. Finally, he calmed down, and pulled away from her, standing in front of her, his head bowed in shame.

"What is it?" She asked gently.

"Mother, I-" He stopped and she noticed the shame in his eyes. Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"What have you done?" She asked accusingly, as pushed him away from her. He took a step back, but held his ground.

"I went to Sakura, but she said no, so I-" He broke off, unable to say it out loud. He heard a sharp intake of breath, and then he was seeing stars at the right hook Mikoto hit him with.

"What did you do to Sakura, Itachi!" His mother screamed as she got right up in his face.

"I used the jutsu Father taught me. But she didn't react the way he told me she would. Physically she reacts, but Mother, she fears me." He told her, his voice reflecting his pain and shame clearly.

"God, I could just kill that man! He promised me that I was the last one that would be used on! He swore to me that he would burn the scroll! That bastard!" Itachi watched in shock as his mother paced back in forth in front of him, the killing intent coming from her almost as formidable as his own.

"I thought you said that Father groveled at your feet?" He dared to ask. His mother whipped around to face him.

"That was what I wanted to happen, what should have happened. Instead, he took away my free will with that jutsu of his! I thought that I made him understand how wrong it was- but he obviously doesn't have a clue since he taught it to you." She growled. She went back to her pacing, but she noticed that he still had his head bowed.

"That isn't all you did to her is it?" She asked in a hard voice. He shook his head.

"When she refused me, she told me that just because she had been with an Uchiha didn't mean she had to marry one, since she didn't the last time she was with one. She refused to tell me who it was, and I…lost control. I trapped her with my Sharigan, and got the answer for myself." He confessed quietly.

"Sasuke?" Mikoto inquired in a strange voice. Itachi shook his head.

"Shisui. They got drunk at a party, and he took her virginity. He doesn't even remember, though she feels a great amount of shame over it still." He informed her. Mikoto let out a relieved sigh. Though she didn't want to acknowledge it, she knew that it would have driven a wedge between the two brothers if Sasuke was the one that had been with Sakura first. The fact that Itachi, who prided himself on his control and skills as a lover, would use such a jutsu on a woman told her a lot about the depth of his feelings for Sakura.

As a mother, Mikoto often felt like a failure as far as Itachi was concerned. She had been unable to shield him properly from the ambitions and expectations of the clan. She had watched from the sidelines as he was formed into the cold, deadly man he was today. Despite the fact that she wanted to kill him for hurting Sakura, a part of her rejoiced that he had finally fallen in love. She had been afraid that his ability to love had been beaten out of him. Still, that didn't give him the right to treat a woman, especially one that Mikoto already looked upon as a daughter, in such a callous manner.

"Where is she right now?" She asked as she turned away from him to stare out the window, attempting to regain control over her temper.

"She upstairs in my bed. I have to leave on a mission- it directly involves the safety of the village. I have to go. Will you watch over her for me?" He inquired hesitantly. She stayed with her back turned away from him, and he left the room to get ready quickly for his mission. He came back to her a few minutes later, and hovered behind her.

"What?" She demanded.

"I didn't just use one jutsu on her. During our lovemaking, I had to claim her completely." He told her. She turned to face him, starring into his eyes with disappointment and disgust. He flinched under that look, but didn't turn away.

"Again-what did you do?" She demanded.

"She's pregnant with my child." He told her quietly. Mikoto gritted her teeth at the small hint of satisfaction in his voice. History was repeating itself, and she felt helpless to stop it.

"Go. I will watch over my daughter." Itachi bowed low in respect, and teleported out of the compound. Mikoto went upstairs to Itachi's room, and sat down on the bed beside Sakura, stroking her hair.

_I am sorry, my little Sakura. I couldn't protect you, just like I couldn't protect Itachi or Sasuke. But I will be damned if I fail my grandchild!_ She sat there quietly, formulating a plan that she had considered many years ago to escape Fugaku, but never followed after finding out that she was pregnant.

_I need to work with Tsunade on this, but I think that between us, we can pull it off. They won't know what hit them! It was time for the Uchiha clan to learn a lesson in respect_. For the first time in a long time, a true smile grew on her face.


	17. Chapter 17 The Getaway

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Acting quickly, Mikoto left Sakura sleeping and went to the bedroom she shared with her husband. She pushed all the clothes on Fugaku's side out of the way, and disabled the trap seal she had placed on a secret compartment. Inside was a purse with money and passports that she hadn't had to use in sixteen years. The money she had added to over the years, her small way of rebelling against her husband, and his bigoted clan. She had more than enough to put her plan into action. She left the space open, wanting Fugaku to find it. Let him find out that she wasn't the conquered woman he thought she was.

Next, she grabbed her emergency backpack she had hidden under the floorboards on her side of the closet. It contained clothes, a basic med kit, her ANBU weapons pouch, her old ANBU outfit complete with mask, and a small tent. She changed into her ANBU outfit, and quickly teleported into the Hokage's office. Luckily for her plan, Tsunade was alone doing some paperwork for once. She looked up wearily, then sat up quickly when she realized who was standing in front of her and what her old friend was wearing. She didn't bat an eye when Mikoto sound proofed the room and sealed it so that no one could get in.

"I need a fake mission, something within the next two hours, and I need to take Sakura with me after you have given her a medical check. Plus, no one, especially not my husband or sons are to know where you sent us." Mikoto said calmly.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on, old friend?" Tsunade demanded.

"Fugaku taught the jutsu to Itachi. Itachi asked Sakura to marry him, and she refused. Told him that just because she slept with him, she wasn't obligated to marry him. The poor dear told him that she hadn't married the last Uchiha she'd bedded, and set off his psycho Uchiha male possessive genes. When she refused to tell him who, he used his Sharigan on her, then proceeded to mark her while he fucked her in one of his illusions. Oh, and did I mention that he used a jutsu on her so that she got pregnant?" Mikoto told her bitingly. She waited for Tsunade's reaction, counting down silently in her head.

'THEY DID WHAT!" Tsunade screamed, as she reduce her desk to a pile of sticks in one hit.

"You hear me. Apparently, Itachi has been stalking her for months now, but she wouldn't have anything to do with him because of how disrespectfully he has treated woman in the past. She thought he just wanted to sleep with her. Unfortunately, my idiotic, sexist pig of a son has fallen in love with her. He couldn't handle it when she refused to marry him despite the fact that she apparently slept with him voluntary. So he took a page from his father's book and marked her. Except the emotionally repressed fool took it to the extreme and 'claimed her completely' as he called it, by making sure that he impregnated her also." Mikoto explained more fully as she flopped down gracefully on the couch up against the wall.

"What the hell is wrong with the men in the Uchiha clan? Are they born with an asshole gene?" Tsunade growled. Mikoto laughed, but there was no real mirth behind it.

"I've had enough. The boys are raised- I refuse to stay with that..that bastard any longer! He told me that he burned the scroll and would never teach it to anyone else. All these years, I have stuck by his side, thinking that he respected my feelings, and he was just humoring me. Well no more! He wants me back, he will GROVEL AT MY FEET!" She shrieked. Tsunade laughed at her friend, while Mikoto glowered at her and flipped her off.

"It's about damn time!" Tsunade told her with glee. She sobered up as she thought of Sakura.

"What about Sakura and the baby?" She asked.

"I am taking them with me. I refuse to allow her to fall into the same trap that I did. My grandchild will not be raised by those sexist pigs! You remember the plan I had worked out?" Mikoto asked with excitement. Tsunade stopped pacing, and smiled at her.

"Yes, it was brilliant. So simple, yet so effective. You think Sakura is up to it?" Tsunade asked worriedly.

"That's why I want you to examine her. If you declare her fit, we will proceed with the plan. If you don't, I am going to talk her into seeking sanctuary with me. Either way, those men of mine are going to have to straighten up if they want us back. I've got to tell you, Itachi was ashamed of himself, but not enough to suit me. There was too much satisfaction in his voice when he told me she was pregnant, though he tried to hide it from me. He did tell me that she is afraid of him now. He's really going to have his work cut out for him. I am just angry and disgusted at Fugaku, not scared. Never, have I been scared of my husband." She declared sadly.

"Bring her to me, and I'll check her out. If she's okay to travel, you'll have my permission to leave." Tsunade shooed her off, as Mikoto released the jutsus protecting their privacy and teleported back to the Uchiha compound.

.

.

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TWENTY MINUTES LATER: THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE

"Well, you are healthy enough, and there doesn't appear to be any problems that would keep you from carrying full-term. Are you sure this is what you want? You know you don't have to-" Mikoto cut Tsunade off.

"Tsunade!" She growled menacingly. Tsunade returned her look.

"I know that you want grandchildren Mikoto, but this is Sakura's life we are talking about, not yours." She stated firmly. The two women turned to Sakura, and found that she had a hand over her abdomen, searching herself with chakra. They witnessed the wonder cross her face as she examined the baby nestled inside her womb. She looked up at them, and her wonder turned to determination.

"I am keeping my baby. No matter how I feel about Itachi, this child had no more choice in the matter than I did, and it is one half of me as well." She told them with conviction. Mikoto sighed with relief, and turned away to hide the tears in her eyes.

"Well, it is your decision. Mikoto told you about the plan?" Tsunade asked gently. When Sakura nodded, her mentor stepped forward and handed her an ANBU outfit with a white porcelain cat mask. She changed quickly, and Mikoto cast a henge jutsu over her, since Sakura was now prohibited from using chakra until the baby was born. The three woman hugged each other, then stepped back. Tsunade handed Mikoto their fake orders and authority to leave the village. With one last look, they walked out of her office, and headed out of the village.


	18. Chapter 18 Fugaku's Discovery

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Fugaku entered the house, heaving a deep sigh of relief at being home at last. He sniffed the air expecting to smell something delicious, but there was nothing but the lingering scent of rice balls.

"Mikoto?" He called out as he walked into the kitchen. She didn't answer, so he went looking for her in the kitchen where she could usually be found at this time of day. Empty. He frowned in annoyance, and went to find her. He checked the garden next, and then finally their bedroom. He say the yukuta that she had worn that morning laying messily on the floor by the bed. When he say the note addressed to him sitting on his pillow, he felt a deep foreboding overtake him. He sat down and opened it up slowly.

.

.

_Dear Fugaku,_

_By now I assume that you have noticed that I am no where in the house. Did you worry about me, or were you annoyed because supper wasn't ready and waiting on the table? I think that I know the answer to that._

_Did you ever wonder why I chose to stay with you all those years ago? Did you assume that you had left me no choice with that marking jutsu of yours? Well, the truth was I stayed with you because I found out that I was pregnant with Itachi. I had already figured out how to get around the mark, in fact, I was planning on leaving you when I discovered I was pregnant._

_Over the years, I grew content with our marriage. I thought that if you went to such lengths to get me, that must mean that you respected and loved me. You promised me that the marking jutsu was gone forever, a relic of the past. And I trusted you. Stupid me._

_All these years, what have I really been to you? A partner? Or a cook, cleaner, mistress, and breeder? Well, I have served my purpose, and I consider myself free. None of you need me anymore. Except Sakura, and my grandchild. Tell Itachi that I will protect them. Don't bother looking for us, because you know that I can't be found when I don't want to be. _

_Love,_

_Mikoto_

Fugaku lowered the letter in shock. His mind was racing as he tried to understand what had happened. Mikoto was gone. She didn't think that he loved her? All these years together, and she left him? He got up and checked the closet for her things, discovering the empty compartments. He noticed a piece of paper laying conspicuously in the bottom of one of the empty spaces.

ONCE IN ANBU, ALWAYS IN ANBU

Suddenly, the shock he was feeling was starting to be replaced with anger. Who the hell did she think she was? Her place was by his side, she was the Uchiha Matriarch for god's sake! Setting feelings aside, she had a duty to this family, and she thought that she could just decide she's free? Outrage at her behavior filled him, and he eagerly focused on that, rather than face the mess that was his marriage. It didn't last for long when memories of their first meeting popped into his head.

FLASHBACK:

Her team had been dispatched to back his up when the mission parameters were upgraded. The back up team arrived just in time, and swept into battle with a vengeance. She was elegance personified as she dodged, swirled, parried, and thrust, taking down her opponents with efficiency. Fugaku had been so busy watching her that he almost took a katana thrust in the gut. He sensed the danger too late and turned just in time to see a kunai penetrate the enemy nin's forehead.

"I guess the Sharigan doesn't see everything, hmm?" She taunted faintly as she turned away to re-enter the fight. For a few seconds, he was frozen in shock before a smirk came over his face and he ran to join her. They battled side by side, and by the end of the skirmish, he was sure that he had found the woman he wanted to settle down with. This woman was strong, skilled, courageous, and she had a beautiful body. She would make a fine Matriarch for the clan.

He took it as a minor setback when she shot him down when he asked for a date. After all, an Uchiha male always got his girl. Once they got back to the village, he followed her around in between missions, persisting in asking her out. She finally agreed, and he was blown away when he saw her face for the first time. She was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. His desire to make her his became a borderline obsession. They began dating, and eventually became lovers, but she turned him down flat when he proposed. She was content with the relationship they had, and she wasn't interested in marriage. Frustrated and more than a little hurt, Fugaku had marked her with a special jutsu passed down by the Uchiha heads to ensure fidelity in their mates.

A woman marked with the jutsu was tied to the man that set the seal on her. Depending on how he touched the Sharigan seal burnt into her skin, she would experience mild desire to an immediate orgasm. That night, Fugaku had done nothing but activate her seal, over and over as he made love to her until she was exhausted. In the morning, he woke up expecting her to be ready to accept his offer, but she was gone. For two weeks, there was no sign of her anywhere in the village, and then one night she showed up on his doorstep. She informed him that she was pregnant and would accept his offer.

END FLASHBACK

Sometimes he wondered if she only accepted his proposal because she was pregnant, but he shook those feelings off when he reflected on how much care she put into everything she did for him and the boys. How could she not love them? It was obvious in everything she did. Now he was left wondering if he had ever really known his wife. Their whole life seemed like a sham now. How much did he really know about the woman he was married to? He racked his brain, trying to think of who she would have run to. She was friendly with many people in the village, but her particular friend…someone that she trusted…Tsunade!

.

.

HOKAGE'S OFFICE:

"Where is my wife?" Fugaku asked as calmly as he could.

"On a mission that required her particular skills." Tsunade told him as she leaned back in her chair with a slight smirk on her face. Fugaku gritted his teeth as he fought back the urge to shout at his Hokage.

"Then would you care to explain this?" He asked her, throwing the note down on her desk. She picked it up and read it, obviously having difficulty keeping a straight face.

"Well, this would definitely explain why she showed up in my office demanding a mission after all this time. Of course, I knew that she still practiced with her old team and kept up with her recertification for ANBU, but she has always seemed content to stay home before today." She said airily.

"She stayed certified for ANBU?" He asked in amazement. Tsunade shook her head at his stupidity.

"Really Fugaku, how did you think that a forty-year-old mother of two kept the body of a twenty-year-old?" She asked him condescendingly.

"I just assumed….wait, stop trying to sidetrack me! I want to know where she is at! She can't just run out on her obligations like this. She is the Uchiha Matriarch." He said a tad pompously.

"Is that all you are worried about? Really, Fugaku? She's right, you don't love her, and hope she never comes back!" She barked at him. He frowned at her in sudden concentration.

"Wait! I thought you said she was on a mission! You expect me to believe that you sent her on a mission with no time parameter? And what is this about Sakura Haruno being pregnant with Itachi's child?" He shouted back at her, pushed into insubordination by his growing anger. They glared into each other's eyes, both refusing to look away first.

There was a slight breeze in the room, and the two protagonists were interrupted in their silent battle of wills.

"ANBU Captain Weasel, reporting Lady Hokage." Itachi stood to attention, his eyes going back and forth between his father and Lady Tsunade, curious as the source of contention between them this time.

"Ah Itachi, maybe you can shed some light onto this situation." Fugaku said in a menacing voice as he snatched the note off Tsunade's desk and handed to his son. Itachi scanned it quickly, and when he reached the end, he crumpled it in his hand.

"Where has my mother taken Sakura?" He demanded coldly.

"None of your business Uchiha!" She told him with equal coldness.

"She is pregnant with my child- I think that gives me some rights in this situation." He said in a strained voice.

"Maybe you should have considered Sakura's rights when you impregnated her without her knowledge or permission." Tsunade informed him frigidly.

Though he tried not to show it, Fugaku was shocked. It was one thing to know that Sakura was pregnant with Itachi's child, but a whole another matter if she hadn't consented. He turned to Itachi and noticed that his body language had shifted. The slightly hunched shoulders told him that his son felt guilty.

"Itachi? Is this true? Did you rape Sakura Haruno?" He asked.

"I had no intentions of hurting her, but the way I used my Sharigan…" Itachi trailed off in shame and uncertainty.

"I know that you have the ability to show me what happened with that Sharigan of yours. I am giving you this one time opportunity to show me exactly what happened, because if you don't prove to me that you didn't rape her, I am going to throw you in jail." Tsunade told Itachi sternly.

"Let me warn you, I have special seals on my memories, so I will know if you attempt to force her whereabouts out of me. I will consider that a personal attack against the Hokage, and I think you are aware of the punishment for that." She warned him before allowing him to approach and place a finger on her forehead. Tsunade nodded and Itachi transferred the images of what happened to her mind. It took only a few seconds, and he stepped back. Both he and his father waited in silence as she assimilated the memories. They were totally unprepared for her reaction.

Tsunade started laughing. She laughed so hard that tears ran down her face, and she grabbed her stomach. By the time she had herself back under control, both the Uchiha men where on edge.

"I almost feel sorry for the two of you. Notice, I say almost. Sakura and Mikoto are going to put you both through hell before they accept your apologies. Now go home, and contemplate all the ways that you have screwed up. Dismissed!" Both men turned to leave without bowing, but Tsunade decided to let it slide, considering the emotional blow they had received.

"Oh Itachi- Mikoto has promised to send me updates on Sakura's condition once a week. I examined her before they left and both she and the fetus were fine." She reassured him. He nodded to her, hesitating for a moment as if he wanted to ask her a question, then bowed to her and followed his father out the door.

As soon as they closed the office door, the mocking smile fell off her face. She thought about what she had discovered from Itachi's memories. Tsunade didn't think that he realized exactly how many impressions of not only his visual memories of what happened, but also the emotions he was feeling at the time were transferred when he used the technique.

She was sure that once the arrogance was pounded out of him, he would make an excellent husband for 'her little girl'. He was head over heels in love with the girl, and desperate for her. From what she could tell, Sakura's rejection had pushed him past the point of rational thought, and left only a basic instinct to claim what he perceived as his mate. Still, a shin obi should have more control than that over his emotions, especially one as deadly as Itachi.

As for Fugaku, she had a harder time reading the man. At different points in the past, she had detected a glimmer of love shining in his eyes towards his wife when he thought that no one was looking. But he was a hard and practical man, not one given to expressing his feelings. She had never appreciated the way he had trapped her friend, and she believed whole-heartedly that Mikoto should put him through the ringer before agreeing to return to his side. She only hoped that his stupid Uchiha pride wouldn't get in the way of him wooing his wife.


	19. Chapter 19 Hideaway

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

THE WOODS OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE WALLS:

Sakura leaned back against the trunk of the large tree leaning over the small pond outside the cabin that Mikoto had brought her too. She was gazing down into the water, her eyes unfocused, and one hand held unconsciously against the small bump swelling her abdomen. She sighed for the umpteenth time, wondering yet again how the situation she was in was going to pan out. Though Mikoto seemed perfectly content to stay here in this woodland sanctuary she had carved out, Sakura was aware that she at least was going to have to go back and face Itachi at some point.

They were hiding out in the one of the few places that their men would be unable to find them. Mikoto was the last of a proud clan that had the ability to create areas that were completely hidden from detection. It was the specialty of her clan- creating spaces that were voids in physical world. It was almost like a masking genjutsu, and yet the layer of chakra needed was so fine it was virtually undetectable. They way the older lady had described it to her was that she was able to make pockets of land disappear to the senses of anyone that approached.

Sakura thought it was incredibly cool, and she hoped that this child inherited it's grandmother's abilities. She rubbed her baby bump absentmindedly as she considered the traits that this child could inherit. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that her son or daughter was going to be powerful- the baby's chakra pattern was already strong, and she was only three months along. She smiled down at her belly as she pushed a small amount of chakra to the baby and had it pushed back against her hand. Yes, her child was going to be incredibly strong. The smile left her face as she contemplated the problem of what to do about the baby's father. Her initial anger and hurt had settled down to a fine determination to not be controlled.

Itachi had taken her choices away from her, and she didn't appreciate it one small bit. It was humiliating to find that for all her strength, he had been able to force his will on her like she was still the weak girl that she had once been. They would have to come to an understanding of some sort, and she had no intention of letting him have everything his own way ever again. He would either take her on as a full partner, or they would have no relationship outside their duties as parents.

She and his mother had spent many hours talking about what to do. As upset as they both were with their ornery Uchiha men, they missed them. Mikoto pretended that she didn't, but Sakura had caught her staring off into the distance with a pained expression on her face. Soon it would be time to go back to the village and engage in a battle for the lives they wanted to live. It was decided between the two of them that when they went back, they would be living in Sakura's apartment, which Tsunade had made sure was not rented out in her absence. Neither lady would be moving out until her man had proven that he loved her and considered her a partner, rather than a maid, bed warmer, hostess, and breeder. Tomorrow they would be heading back, and Sakura was looking forward to seeing all her friends again. Only to 'Inner' would she admit that she missed Itachi as well, and craved his touch on her body once again. He had scared her badly with the sheer intensity of his lovemaking, and yet she knew instinctively that no man would ever be able to give her the pleasure he had.

She couldn't even give the excuse that the mark had caused her reaction to him, considering the fact that their first bout of lovemaking had been the most orgasmic experience she had ever had. He hadn't marked her at that point, and so she had to face the fact that her body acknowledged Itachi's on some primitive level that had nothing to do with any jutsu, but rather the man himself. The fact that she would have to go back and face him knowing how hard he was to resist scared her. Her entire future was going to be decided in the next few months.

THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE:

"Has my mother sent the update yet?" Itachi inquired.

"Yes. Both mother and baby are doing fine. As a matter of fact, according to Sakura, the little one is already able to push chakra back against her hand." Tsunade informed him excitedly. Though he tried to hide it, Itachi's eyes gleamed with pride and longing. The past through months being unable to see or touch Sakura had taken there toll on him, he had circles underneath his eyes from lack of sleep, and the stress marks on his face had deepened.

Tsunade almost felt sorry for him, and she contemplated telling him that Sakura was coming back to the village, but she stopped herself. She wanted to allow her former apprentice the element of surprise. She had a feeling that the young woman would need it- she was going to go up against a genius after all. Both Mikoto and Sakura had sent her long letters discussing their feelings about the cavalier way they had been treated, and what they wanted to happen in the future. It was going to be one hell of a struggle, and she was glad that she would have a front row set for it. She already had a bet with Jiarya over who was going to break first: Fugaku or Itachi. Her money was on Itachi, and for Sakura's sake she was hoping for the first time that she would lose a bet.


	20. Chapter 20 His Own Medicine

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"Your apartment is ready, I had a team of genin clean it just yesterday. Mikoto, Fugaku refused to release your personal belongings. I think that he decided that you will have to come for your things, and he will be able to speak to you face-to-face." Tsunade said ruefully, a small grin on her face as she looked at her friend.

"Sakura, you know what this means right?" Mikoto said cheerfully. Sakura's eyes grew wide in apprehension, and Tsunade grin widened. The two older ladies looked at each other.

"SHOPPING TRIP!" They announced in unison. Sakura paled- she could feel the energy leeching out of her body already. In the past, she had been dragged along with the two friends on one of their trips. She liked to shop as well as the next woman, but these two literally spent ALL DAY LONG shopping. Sakura shook her head from side-to-side in denial.

"Oh no-no-no! You two are NOT dragging me off on one of your endurance shopping marathons! I am sure that it would be bad for the baby…." She tried to reason with them. They merely smirked at her, again in unison, which truthfully was a bit creepy to the young woman. She sighed in resignation, and they laughed at her.

"Just think of all the cute maternity clothes we can buy! Oh, and the baby clothes! I always wanted to shop for a girl!" Mikoto cried out excitedly.

"So the baby is a girl?" Tsunade inquired. Sakura nodded.

"When I scanned this morning, I noticed that the chakra has a distinctive feminine feel to it, but I was going to ask you to see what you think." Sakura told her. Tsunade reached out and placed a hand over the small baby bump, and sent her chakra out searching. She grinned in delight when the baby pushed back, and especially when she detected that Sakura was correct. This baby was definitely a girl!

"You are right. It's a girl." She told the young mother. Mikoto squealed in delight. Shizune was summoned, informed of the good news, and tasked with job of covering for the Hokage for the rest of the day.

They left the Hokage tower and headed out into the shopping district. Everywhere they went, eyes and whispers followed them. Sakura was highly uncomfortable with all the attention they were gathering, not all of it was positive. She was so slender that is was obvious she was pregnant, and everyone in the village had apparently heard some version of what happened between her and Itachi. Many of the older generation were giving her looks of disapproval and disgust. She straightened her back and outwardly ignored the looks, but inside she was humiliated by the fact that she was pregnant out of wedlock.

Mikoto reached out and pulled her into a hug in obvious show of support, and glared right back at the gossipmongers. Just as they were getting ready to enter the first store, a loud voice rang out.

"SAKURA-CHAN! You are back!" Sakura was pulled into a strong embrace, and she had only seconds to register the smell of ramen before it was ripped away.

"What the hell are you doing, Dobe? Trying to make her lose the baby?" Sasuke exclaimed in exasperation. He embraced his former teammate carefully, and then stood back to inspect the changes in her. He nodded to himself in satisfaction, and then turned to his mother.

"I've missed you Kaa-san. Father and Itachi have been driving me up the wall. I've moved in with Naruto." He informed her as he bend down and snatched her into a much firmer hug than he had given Sakura. His mother merely laughed at him, and squeezed him back.

"Serves them right- I hope that they are suffering the asses!" She snorted.

"Aren't you even go to talk to Tou-san?" Sasuke asked with a small hint of disapproval in his voice. His mother pulled away and looked up at him with a serious expression on her face.

"Son, your father betrayed my trust, and I am not going to go crawling back to him like I was the one that did something wrong. Don't worry so much, I am sure that it will all end up how it is supposed to be." Mikoto told him. They exchanged a look of quiet understanding, and Sasuke pulled out of her embrace.

"So would you boys like to join us? We are shopping for the little mother and your niece." She coaxed them mischievously. Sasuke immediately got a look of horror on his face, which he quickly tamed back into his normal blank expression. Luckily for him, Naruto diverted her attention.

"A niece! Wow, that's really great, Sakura!" Naruto said happily, hugging her again, this time a lot more carefully. Suddenly, he started to laugh. They watched as he dropped to the ground, grabbing his sides as he laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. Sakura was just getting ready to reach down and give him a 'love tap' when Tsunade did the honors for her.

"Alright brat, what is so damn funny?" She growled at him. Under the threat of her raised fist, he hurriedly sobered up to explain.

"Well, I was just thinking how it served Itachi right that the baby is a girl." He told them with a grin. They all gave him looks with varying degrees of incomprehension.

He sighed and explained more.

"One day, he is going to have a beautiful daughter that he will have to protect from guys just like him." He said with a smirk. Sasuke was the first to snort, then Mikoto and Tsunade started snickering, while Sakura just got a gleam of evil satisfaction in her eyes followed by a slow smirk. Behind them, there was a sound of someone choking, and they turned to see Itachi with a look of complete shock on his face, as he slowly turned red. And then something happened that stunned them all- for the first time in his life, Itachi Uchiha fainted.


	21. Chapter 21 Sakura's Plan

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Everyone looked at each other in shock for perhaps a minute, before they all burst into laughter. Sakura laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks, and her sides began to hurt. Several minutes passed before everyone sobered up, and Itachi still had not woken up. They stood around him, blocking the view of all the nosy villagers that were trying to see what all the ruckus was about.

"So…what should we do with him now?" Naruto asked.

"Take him to our apartment-it's closer than the hospital." Sakura said. The others looked at her in shock.

"Stop looking at me like that! I am not softening up! I've had three months to think about what I wanted to say to him, and I am pumped up to have a little conversation." She told them with a gleam in her eye. Wicked smiles appeared on their faces, and the boys lifted him up. Mikoto cast a genjutsu over them so that it appeared that Itachi was walking between the two, after all, publicly humiliating a member of the Uchiha clan was not her goal. No matter how much he deserved it. They arrived at Sakura's apartment in mere minutes.

"I need your help." She told Tsunade and Mikoto. They send Naruto and Sasuke out into the living room, and followed Sakura into the bedroom. Tsunade set up a sound proof barrier, and Sakura shared her plan with them.

"It is obvious from his reaction to Naruto's words that he is starting to understand how what he did was wrong, but I believe that if he is put in a situation where he is as vulnerable as I was that night, he will truly understand my feelings. So I want to strip him naked, drain his chakra, and bind him to my bed." She told them with a blush on her cheeks. Tsunade and Mikoto shared a look of pure shock, before evil enjoyment lit their eyes up. They worked quickly, and within minutes, the Uchiha heir was naked and bound to the bed. Tsunade drained his chakra down to a fourth of what it normally was, but she didn't drain it completely. She had a feeling that if Sakura's plan worked, Itachi was going to need some energy.

The ladies stood back and admired their handiwork. It was a rather glorious sight. Itachi Uchiha was a male specimen in peak physical condition, all lanky hard muscled, with more than his fair share of manly endowment. Added to that, he was absolutely gorgeous, looking like a fallen angel laying sprawled out.

"Oh, Sakura! If I was a few years younger I might give you a fight for this young stallion!" Tsunade teased, though there was a gleam of real appreciation in her eyes. Sakura flushed bright red. Mikoto laughed at her, until Tsunade turned the teasing back in her direction.

"Well Mikoto, if Fugaku is hung like his son, it's no wonder you stayed with him all these years. My, my, my!" Both Sakura and Mikoto blushed and glared at her in unison. Mikoto pushed her friend none to gently towards the door, ignoring her laughter, and then walked back to Sakura to give her a hug of support.

"Sakura, I have no doubt that you will be able to get through that thick skull of his, after all, he has some of my genes in him too." She joked as she headed for the door. When they shut the door behind them, Sakura turned and stared down at Itachi, soaking up the sight of him with hungry eyes. It was the first time that she had gotten a really good look at him naked, and she had to admit, he was truly a beautiful man.

A gleam of possessiveness entered her eyes, as she visually traced his body. This sex-god of a man wanted **her**, Sakura Haruno! Out of all the beautiful and talented women that made plays for him, he had chosen **her**. She was carrying **his** child, a child that he had deliberately planted in **her** body, because he wanted **her** to be the mother of his children, and the future matriarch of his clan. It was a heady thought.

In her time away, she spent a lot of time thinking back over their interactions, and she realized that she had held him up to standards that were impossible for any man to uphold. She had purposefully pushed all his buttons, yet expected him to stay in full control of himself. But despite his well earned reputation as the most skilled cold-blooded ANBU captain to ever serve the village, he was still a man. A man she had insulted and scorned every chance she got. And a man that desperately wanted her, maybe even loved her more than she understood.

His actions that night had not been those of a rational man. He had been running on pure instinct, and though she still didn't approve of what he had done to her, in their time apart, she had come to understand it. He had put himself out there emotionally for her in the only way that he knew how, and she slammed him down. In doing so, she had broken the iron control that he normally maintained over his emotions, pushing him past his limits. Looking back on the whole situation, she had come to realize that neither of them had handled their feelings well.

As she gazed down on him, the firm conviction settled into her that they were going to come to some sort of understanding before he would be released from the restraints. She was willing to compromise if he could prove to her that he finally understood the position he had put her in, was remorseful, and did indeed love her. With that thought in mind, she undressed and climbed on top of him. She would do to him what was done to her, and see how he liked it. He would waked up painfully aroused with no way to take care of it without **her **touch. Which she had no intention of giving him until **she** was damn well ready.


	22. Chapter 22 Finally: Understanding

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Itachi gasped as he woke up to find that his body was on fire. His back arched as the pleasure swept over him. The pressure building up in his lower body was almost unbearable. He opened his eyes and looked down, shocked to see Sakura sucking his cock, her eyes shut as she moaned against him, the vibrations of it setting yet another wave of pleasure/pain through his body. His teeth clenched in an effort to hold in a loud moan, but it was impossible. Just as he was going to cum in her mouth, she pulled away from him, and he growled in frustration and pain as his balls tightened up. He tried to sit up and force her mouth back down to finish what she started, but was shocked to find that he was tied down to the bed.

She sat up on his body, and looked into his eyes, her own glazed over with desire. As he watched, she cupped her own breasts and caressed them, pinching the nipples. He held his breath as he watched her pleasure herself. She bit her lip, and her eyes slid shut as she reached one hand down, and stroked her clit. He watched the motion of her fingers, mesmerized by the erotic picture of her writhing above him in pleasure. When she threw her head back and cried out, Itachi's entire body spasmed in painful arousal. She collapsed on top of him, and the feeling of her soft feminine curves against him was so pleasurable it hurt.

As her breathing calmed down, she shifted to lay on her side beside him, and began to place soft kisses on his neck right under his ear. She blew gently into his ear, and he shivered, causing her to chuckle quietly.

"How does it feel to be this aroused, this helpless to fulfill your bodies demands without my touch?" Delicately, she traced the edge of his ear with the very tip of her tongue before nibbling on his earlobe. Itachi's cock throbbed, and pre-cum oozed from the tip as his eyes crossed. He bucked up against the restraints.

"It's painful, is it? To have your body betray your control, to be unable to take what you need, to be at my mercy!" Sakura taunted him, although he could hear the undertone of anger in her voice.

"This is what you did to me that night. You took away my control over my own body by forcing some much pleasure on me. But what is worse, you made me feel helpless and frightened. Do you know how hard I have worked in to past to go from being a weak, helpless person that needed to be protected into the person that I am today! And with one decision, you took all that away from me. You need to understand, to feel what I felt, to be sorry, before we can go forward." Sakura told him firmly as she leaned over him, and licked the moisture from the head of his dick, causing him to cry out. She raised up and stared into his eyes with fierce satisfaction.

"It's your turn to be helpless to **my** will, **my** whims, although I have got to warn you, the hormones are making me unbelievably horny, so don't expect any relief anytime soon." With one smooth motion, she climbed on top on him, and sheathed him, causing both of them to cry out. She rode him hard, and in just a few minutes, they both orgasmed crying out each other's names in ecstasy.

Sakura collapsed on him for a second time, and despite her best intentions, she dozed off. She had wanted to reawaken his body with a chakra trick and then tease him again, but her pregnant body was betraying her with its need for extra sleep. Itachi lay under her, still buried inside her, and contemplated the situation he found himself in.

Despite his discomfort, he found himself grinning as he gazed down lovingly at his female. He was strangely proud of her for the daring and the ability to turn the tables on him in such a manner. She was indeed worthy of his love and respect. The smile slid off his face as he remembered her words. He had hurt her far more than he realized. Naruto's words had been like a punch in the face. How would he feel if someone treated his daughter the way he had treated Sakura? Just the thought of it made his blood boil, and his fists to clench in the desire to pound something or someone.

He forced himself to calm down, and think about how Sakura made him feel. Being tied down, aroused past the point of pain, and then helpless to make her to end the waves of torturous pleasure she forced on him. For the first time since he was a small child, Itachi felt tears come to his eyes. Shame was hitting him hard as he finally admitted to himself the full extent of his actions towards Sakura. He had caused his proud strong mate to feel helpless and ashamed of herself, to setback years of hard work she had put herself through in one night. The sheer selfishness of his actions, the decisions that he had forced on her, overwhelmed him.

Sakura stirred against him, and raised her head to look at him. Her sheer beauty in that moment took his breath away. Her pink hair was tousled around her, her skin glowed, and her eyes where filled with a sleepy satisfaction. The sleep fell from her eyes as she saw the tears in his.

"Itachi?" She inquired softly, worry evident in her voice.

"How can you possibly forgive me? What I did- it was unforgivable!" He told her as he looked away in shame, unable to meet her eyes. She laid a gentle hand on his cheek and forced him to look back at her.

"Wrong, but not unforgivable. After all, I didn't exactly treat you any better, did I?" Sakura told him ruefully. His eyes widened in surprise, and she laughed at him softly.

"These months that I was gone, I began to understand that I was not blameless for what happened that night. You made yourself vulnerable to me, and I hurt you. All I thought about was how I was feeling- I was so righteously indignant that I never stopped to think about your feelings." She said in mild self-disgust. Itachi shook his head in denial.

"That still doesn't justify what I did." He said loathingly.

"No it doesn't. But at the same time, you are an imperfect human, just like the rest of us. I hurt you, so you hurt me back. It isn't right, but it is understandable, and since I believe that you are truly remorseful, I can forgive you. This time. If you ever pull something on me like that again- I will not forgive you a second time. Have I made myself clear?" She demanded.

Itachi starred at her in amazement. She was willing to forgive him? He wasn't even able to forgive himself. He starred into her eyes intently, checking that she was being sincere. He found sincerity, understanding, and love. He sucked in a deep breath, and slowly, he smiled at her. It was a beautiful, happy smile, and it dazzled her.

"Sakura Haruno, I love you. I am totally, utterly unworthy of you, but I love you more than my own life. Will you do me the great honor of marrying me?" He asked her tenderly. It was Sakura's turn to search his eyes, and after several seconds, she smiled back at him.

"I love you too, and yes, I will marry you." She told him tearfully as she hugged him tightly. They stayed in that position for several minutes before Sakura sat up with a mischievous look on her face. Itachi lifted an eyebrow at her, until he felt the walls of her pussy tighten around him. Instantly, his dick began to harden, and she laughed in delight as she reached out to caress his chest, running her fingers over his nipples lightly, and he shivered.

"Sakura, release the restraints and let me worship you." Itachi groaned seductively as he arched under her, his cock swelling to full erection inside of her. She leaned down and put her lips on his ear.

"But I rather like you sprawled out, completely at my mercy." She said teasingly before nibbling his earlobe. Itachi focused all his chakra onto the restraints and broke them. In a swift move, he rolled a shocked and breathless Sakura underneath him. They both groaned when he pulled out of her and then rammed back in.

"My turn, love." He told her as he smirked sexily down at her. Sakura giggled up at him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"Didn't you mention something about worshipping me?" She asked breathily as she reached up and kissed him.


	23. Chapter 23 Together At Last

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Itachi tightened his arms around his cherry blossom pulling her closer, content now that she was back where she belonged. In his arms. Tenderly, he nuzzled his nose in her soft hair, allowing himself to surrender to sleep. He was exhausted both physically and emotionally, and fell into a deeper sleep than he would normally have allowed himself to. Neither he nor Sakura woke up when Mikoto silently opened the door and peeked in. They both slept through her dragging Tsunade in to see the results of their conspiring, and the ladies' not-so-quiet laughter. The two friends left the room, closing the door softly behind them.

"Now what should we do?" Tsunade asked with a grin. Mikoto looked at her friend as though she had just said the stupidest thing.

"Well, obviously, we have a wedding to put together! Honestly Tsunade, you can be such a blonde sometimes." Mikoto stated in exasperation. The busty fifth Hokage glared at her friend for a few seconds before a look of glee came over her face.

"SHOPPING AND SAKE!" She yelled joyfully as she latched onto her raven haired friend's arm, pulling her out of the apartment. Mikoto stumbled behind her, half-heartedly protesting. Truthfully, she didn't remember the last time she had been out for drinks with her friend. After she married Fugaku, she had to stick to such strict rules of etiquette and decorum that was considered the proper behavior for the matriarch of the Uchiha clan.

Mikoto scowled when she realized that she was thinking about her husband yet again. The bastard! Why, it would serve him right if she got stinking drunk and raised a bit of hell tonight! Just the thought of the horrified look on his face when he was summoned before the elders to be scolded for her 'disgraceful' behavior, was enough to have her stopping in the middle of the street and laughing so hard she had to grab her sides. Tsunade stopped as well, giving her a strange look, which only made her laugh harder. The blonde's lips twitched, and soon she was laughing with her old friend, who's joy was infectious. Eventually, the two ladies calmed down, and Tsunade looked over at Mikoto with an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

"I was just thinking about the look on Fugaku's face when he finds out about my drunken spree with 'that wild Tsunade'." She told her friend with a little chuckle. Tsunade grinned mischievously.

"Let's start at that new karoke bar…I heard from Shizune that it is the newest hot spot for the jounin to unwind from missions." Her eyes gleamed, as a plan ran through her head. Unfortunately for Mikoto, she didn't notice the wicked smirk that covered her friend's face.

_Now that I have Sakura's future settled out, it is time I got Mikoto and that stubborn jackass of hers back together. She puts on a good show, but I know that she misses him…_

THE END

To some of my readers this may be an akward place to stop this story. Normally I would agree with you, however, this isn't the true end. As I have hinted above, there is the wedding planning, and a marriage to repair. While I was writing this story, I absolutely fell in love with my version of Mikoto. She deserves her own story, and I will be telling it! So be on the look out for the sequel: **The Tables Are Turned: The Sealing of Fugaku.**


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